Episode IX: The New Order
by Helga Schwarzbaum
Summary: Dark Side rises. Kylo Ren is proclaimed the new Supreme Leader on Korriban over Snoke's pyre. Some new allies re-emerge from the past, with old foes soon to follow. Rey grows stronger in the Force and becomes the true leader of the Resistance and a beacon of hope. However, loyalties and friendships will be put to test, because no one can outrun its shadow.
1. Chapter 1

Episode IX – The New Order

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. Disney does. My personal gratitude and awe go to the people behind the wookiepedia and mandoa, and of course to Rian Johnson and everyone involved with Ep. VIII. I used some references from the Original Trilogy, Rogue One and from the Star Wars: the Rebels and put in just a small wink to the EU lore. I generally kept myself away from too many theories, because I wanted this to be as stand-alone as it is possible for a SW fanfic. However, I used some general ideas from a few online sources. That being said, I enjoyed writing this version of Episode IX. It is far from perfect, but I like it nevertheless. It's nothing to the world, but it means something to me ;) The story is very Kylo Ren – Rey and Episode VIII oriented, so if you hate those – simply don't read this piece of fanfic. Otherwise, I hope you enjoy it and MTFBY.

Chapter I.

Last Farewell.

 _Synopsis: General Leia has died. The remaining Resistance prepares a funeral pyre and memorial for their beloved leader, risking exposure, capture and final annihilation. Kylo Ren ascends to the power as the new Supreme Leader over Snoke's funeral pyre._

She fell ill mere days after their last stand-off on Crait. Perhaps it was the damp, sickly atmosphere of Degobah. Or, as many of them feared, it was her broken heart that finally gave way.

She slipped from consciousness softly and quietly, not coming to her senses again.

That fine cord of hope that tied them all together and that served as a beacon in what felt an ocean of darkness, has snapped.

The moment Princess died, Rey was at her side. Praying to whoever heard her to spare her life, to give the Force way to heal her. But there is nothing that could be done. The Princess abandoned this reality almost by her own volition – Rey could sense her pain and her grief, her immense guilt for both losing her son, Ben, and for being a culprit, if even an unwilling one, for the great decimation and death of so many Resistance fighters.

Crait was the final blow to the hope that her son might come back, from which she never recovered.

And when that bond was severed, Rey felt like the world became a surreal place. The hushed voices and laments around her became muffled. The shapes of weapons, equipment and people became washed out and everything felt like a half-death.

She was sitting alone, in silence, in the half-light of that abandoned planet. And for the first time in a long time, she felt nothing.

She was empty.

The broken pieces of her Master's saber strangely mirrored her own self. She was broken. A weapon that was once so full of potential and strength was now lying in ruins.

As Leia's life was slowly leaving her, Rey fervently read the Jedi texts day and night, using all her Force-heightened intuition to decipher the highly poetic, hermetical language of the Jedi. She used the old skill she had – the one that allowed her to immerse herself into the very spiritual substance of the object before her. Everything in the universe had its own unique energy signature. But the ancient texts were quizzical at best and nonsensical to her at worst. She saw the visions, powerful visions of Light and Dark, but no clear instruction how to repair the broken relic. Only very vague references were left by the ancient Masters.

More often than she'd like to admit to herself, she would find him within those visions. She didn't tell anyone about the communication she had with Kylo Ren. She wasn't quite certain if the connection was true or not, a promise of a future victory or a mere deception by Snoke who fed them both with what they wanted to see. She realized her emotions were swaying her left and right. There was a deeply unsettling realization buried in the heart of her hearts – she still cared for him. His image haunted her like a shadow in her nightmares and in her visions, and she often found it difficult to discern former from the latter.

She had an endlessly reiterating dream, where she'd slay him in a proportionate number of ways, the next always slightly different from the previous one. In her dreams, her rage was being materialized as crimson of a volcanic eruption every single time. The torment of it all was that he didn't even so much as defend himself. Rey found no satisfaction or peace in killing him. Infallibly, she'd always see his face in the end – but it was not the vicious face of a Supreme Leader. It was a face of man tormented, a man who welcomed death. Sometimes, the dream would end there. But sometimes, as soon as he'd slide away from her saber, she'd find herself struck down with her own saber through the abdomen. The sensation was so vivid that she'd break from her sleep in cold sweat.

A connection to the new Supreme Leader would be worse than a high treason among these people. She didn't fear death – she was afraid she would fail these men and women whom have become the family she never had.

She couldn't confess to this bond. And she felt the responsibility and guilt pressed her heart like a heavy weight.

* * *

He had a recurring dream.

He'd awake from his troubled sleep to be met with her eyes staring at him from the foot of his bed.

They stood there in silence for a nanosecond that felt like eternity.

She didn't need to tell him. He knew. They both knew.

Her eyes were empty, and as impermeable like polished obsidian.

And in the next moment, swift and merciless like a hawk, she'd pierce his chest with her saber, with her hardened gaze being the last thing he saw before falling into total darkness.

And then he would wake up once more, alone in his room. Only this time, there was a phantom pain in his chest. He touched the imaginary wound instinctively.

His mother has died.

* * *

The Resistance agreed to build a funeral pyre worthy of a General and of a Princess. They risked so much: the exposure and the attack that would mean the end to all that was left of Resistance – but they didn't want their beloved leader to be buried without the proper code and respect she deserved. Many of them had the same unspoken thought: I might be the one soon to follow.

Every one of them said a few words of eulogy that shared the most important memories of their General. Rey was as cold as stone by that point. She'd fear herself and her numbness, if there was but an emotion left in her to feel. When the torch came into her hands, she stood there, motionlessly and frozen like an ice sculpture. She thought she could feel his presence, cold and distant. But she didn't have the strength to care. Eventually, Poe came to her side and gently and slowly lowered the torch to the funeral pyre. Rey snapped from it like from a bad dream.

The flame flickered and struggled to spread through the damp, misty atmosphere. The skies were always overcast on this planet, which was one of the reasons it has been chosen in the first place. Rey walked few steps away, with her fists flinched. She couldn't bring herself to pray or to mourn. She didn't dare look at the white, thin smoke reaching for the skies. A familiar sensation passed through her hand – her loyal friend from the beginning, Finn, was at her side with his hand reaching hers. She loosened the grip and touched her friend's palm. They looked at one another, standing side by side like two orphaned children.

* * *

First Order was in the haste to bury their former Leader. The giant was difficult to embalm and wrap in royal, golden linen to conceal the mutilation of his body. Ren overlooked the ceremony himself, following the ancient traditions of the Knights of Ren. He was the last one to set his eyes on Snoke's disfigured face, the same way he was the last one to see that face alive. He looked at that grimace forever locked in shock and disbelief, and then covered it coldly. From the distance it seemed like the two leaders have exchanged some unspoken wisdoms from the other side. But he knew. Snoke wasn't much alive when he was alive – and in his death, it was very much the same.

From Snoke's finger, he removed the robust, richly embroidered ring with an obsidian stone retrieved from under the ruins of Vader's castle at Mustafar. That was a common rite in Ren temple. And after all, it was his rightful heritage in a way – but the ring had the stench of death to it – beyond detection to anyone but him. He passed it to the Temple Priests with a barely contained disgust for the relic.

He let Hux address his men – some 2.500.000 of them – from a giant pulpit built over the funeral pyre.

It was a standard Hux's overzealous, pompous tirade.

He called his soldiers on arms against the remaining rebel scum and their sympathizers, calling them meager and pathetic, mocking the fact they were reduced to no more than 100 that were no more than a drop in the ocean that is the First Order.

Kylo Ren tolerated the seemingly endless current of words coming from Hux, and then descended solemnly from the top of the temple stairs to the funeral pyre. He ignited the fire with his saber. The dense smoke broke quickly through the layers of wood.

He could barely see his army through the thick veil of smoke, as they were hailing him the new Supreme Leader. The binary suns shone brilliantly against him and the vast Ren temple. For the briefest of moments, he thought he could see her with the periphery of his eyesight, as she was standing by the side of the pyre. Her sadness came flushing over him like tide. Her thoughts were distant. There was emptiness in her, emptiness surrounding her. He realized – it wasn't a daydream. It wasn't a hallucination. And it wasn't Snoke's funeral pyre. It was her, standing by his mother's pyre, but she didn't open to the communication although she was aware of his presence in the Force. Her heart was elsewhere, and consumed by grief. The same grief exploded at him and set ablaze his defenses. But he resisted. He remained there, motionless, a singular black figure against the white marble staircase.

His heart was empty. He felt almost as dead as the creature he has put to death.

* * *

Ren saw the shadows of Hux's mind and he could tell the rising mistrust about the story he has told him. Hux absolutely didn't believe that a simple girl, Jedi or not, could take down the Supreme Leader Snoke in but one fatal and masterful blow and afterwards singlehandedly defeat Kylo Ren and the Praetorians. He saw her being accompanied by Ren and elite Stormtroopers in handcuffs, a frail frame against the brutal machinery of the First Order. Hux broke men and women far more intimidating by his own record – including many of his own disobedient, plot-ready, scheming-savvy officers.

Ren knew he had to strike Hux down before he acted against him. However, he couldn't do it directly, as he found the "rabid cur" useful to his own goals and too much of a cunning and influential politician to be executed without a good reason. The First Order suffered a lot after the destruction of Starkiller Base, "The Finalizer" and "Supremacy". The leadership was tattered, and the man-power needed replenishing.

For the time being, Hux struggled to be as compliant to the new Supreme Leader as not to raise his suspicion. He also jumped readily at this opportunity to blame a Resistance member for this most grievous of all insults – he declared warrants for her capture across all the charted regions and put an enormous bounty on her head and all helping her.

As for the remaining First Order leadership, shaken by the desperate suicidal attack of vice-admiral Holdo, they all rushed to Supreme Leader's side to prove him their loyalty.

However, Hux knew how to wait. He knew the men would be once again fed up with the Supreme Leader's moodiness, his proneness to mysticism and incontrollable rage – and although powerful, the Supreme Leader wasn't altogether invincible.

Hux knew his patience was the only advantage he had over Kylo Ren.

And that was an advantage he was planning to exploit to the outmost.

Chapter II.

Token of Hope.

 _Synopsis: Rey asks Poe's permission to leave for Ahch-to, desperate to find answers._

"I heard you're promoted", she said, with her back facing him.

"It is an honor I'd very gladly pass", Poe answered, realizing his stealthy walk wasn't even as half as stealthy as he believed.

"I'm sorry I've disturbed you", he said, coming closer to her side, "If you wish, I'll leave".

She glanced at him like a simple girl, sitting on the lake shore.

She shook her head.

"I wasn't meditating", she said, "Please, stay".

"Sure".

They sat there in silence for some time. And that shared silence felt peaceful and soothing for a change. Poe was stuck in a position he never wanted and that made him face the immense responsibility, the kind he never asked for, in a situation so incredibly bleak. But there was something about her presence – her name suited her well. She was full of light, promise and hope. She made him almost feel poetic. "Damn it, Poe", he thought to himself and looked down.

There was General Leia's ring in his hand. He's been trying to give it to Rey for some time, but his new role and her constant distancing into work, meditation and reading kept them apart.

"Rey", he cleared his throat and passed her the ring on his open palm. "It will never be a good time, so this might as well be the best. Take it. She gave it to me as a memento, but it should belong to you. If she had the time, she would give it to you".

Rey's eyes misted over with tears.

"Poe, I couldn't possibly", she replied gently. "It's a great honor, but I can't – she intended it for you".

He shook his head.

"No", he said, "We were the closest thing to family she had left. It should belong to you. I knew General well. This is yours".

Rey accepted it reluctantly. "Thank you", she whispered and put the ring on her finger. The bipartite ornament fitted her. Rey wasn't accustomed to jewelry, but this wasn't jewelry. It was a token, a promise of hope. The cold metal warmed up and to her sensitive Jedi ear, two opalescent deep-blue stones almost emitted a low reassuring humming noise.

This gave her the boldness she needed to ask him what was on her mind ever since they left Crait.

"Poe", she said, "I need you to help me".

He anticipated what she was about to say, but complied nevertheless. He found her damn hard to resist.

"I need to get to Ahch-to again", she said.

He made an exasperated sound.

"Rey", he said, "You know there's basically a limitless bounty on your head. The moment you leave the orbit, you'll have half of the First Order at your tail and who knows what else of a space mercenary slime. We're as safe here as can get. Lay low. Save your strength. There must be another way. We're like a single broken pixel in First Order's screen. There's hardly any harm we can cause them. If you stay under their radar, they'll soon start bickering among themselves and give us some time to re-group. Trust me – I've seen it. That's how they operate".

She waved her head again.

"I know", she replied, "And I did obey General's orders. I did stay low. But she is dead now", she said, with sad tone in her voice, "and I believe, if she'd lived, she'd give me the permission eventually. Reluctantly, but she would".

"Rey", he said, "You escaped once – barely. Don't test your luck. Wait for Maz to contact us back. If there's someone in the galaxy who can help you, then it's her. I don't even know what piece of junk you can use to get to Ahch-to. The "Falcon" is not only a junk, but is a known throughout the galaxy sort of junk. Old man's escape craft screams "First Order" from across the universe. As for other light freighters, it's like navigating a bucket with a broomstick".

Rey shook her head.

"I can't wait, Poe", she said, "Not anymore. I can feel the darkness rising. Wait here – and they'll just ambush us as we're waiting. The rope is tied around our necks".

"Tell me something I don't know", he murmured, and then looked at her, quickly casting away his disgruntled face.

"Rey, you know I'd be the first to take you wherever you say", he said with honesty and just a hint of ardor, "But this is just…madness".

"Perhaps all Jedi are mad in their own way", she responded, and jumped to her feet.

"Help me on this, General", she said, "Give me the permission to take Chewie and R2 with me, onboard the "Falcon". The sooner I depart, the sooner I'll come back". She fetched her old quarterstaff.

He stood straight near her, brushing dirt on his hands against his sides. He could cut through her resolve with a knife.

"Why do I have this feeling you don't need anyone's permission?", he asked, "0k. But take me as a co-pilot, Rey".

She shook her head once again.

"No, General", she smiled at him with that bright and reassuring smile of hers, "You're needed here. These people need you".

She was really hard to say no to, war crisis notwithstanding.

"Take BB-8 with you, then", he said eventually, "He's well programmed to fix space junk".

* * *

Alarms were roaring and BB-8 again shaken by yet another electrical shock. The little robot rolled away, trembling and buzzing.

" _I over-worked "Falcon" this time"_ , she thought.

"I know, Chewie", Rey yelled, her face stained with mechanical oil and sweat; "I'm working on it. I only have to deactivate the hyper-drive module and it'll be alright, trust me".

A disgruntled noise came her way.

"Of course", she thought, "Only if it does not explode first".

R2D2 came around, bleeping.

"Are you sure?" Rey asked, "But it might just blend the hyper-drive module and the impulse reactor together, and then we'll be just a floating scrapped metal in the space".

R2D2 seemingly resented this remark.

"Alright", Rey gasped, "Do your thing, R2".

The little droid stretched one of his telescopic grabbers, clicked on fuming electric chips like experienced clockwork-master would tip on a broken, but intricate antique clock. Then he practically immersed himself into the electric panel, and with alarms screaming left and right, he tore the hyper drive module out.

Rey held her breath, without even so much time as to think.

The alarms stopped.

R2D2 bleeped with what sounded like a relief.

Rey was beyond herself for a nanosecond, but then jumped again to her feet, fixing the little BB-8 unit, who was bleeping rather faintly.

"Now, R2D2", she exclaimed, "Let's see what's with the module".

But to her total dismay, she saw little more than a fragment of scorched metal, with a big black hole piercing right through it.

"Oh no", she said, terrified, "Oh, no, no, no, no".

That was their only hyper-drive module and Ahch-to was 2.5 hyper-jumps away.

Rey almost staggered and sat backwards.

BB-8 unit made a sheepish, whistling sound.

"Yes, we didn't explode", she answered bitterly, "But we're as useless as dead without the hyper-drive".

And as if that wasn't enough, an incoming signal came from the cockpit. Chewie howled and punched their blocked interface.

It was the Guavian Death Gang.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter III.

Ambushed.

 _Synopsis: "Falcon" is intercepted by Guavian Death Gang. Kylo Ren discovers the Ahch-to sector._

"Well, well", Bala Tik said, in his thick accent, shamelessly gloating, "So the famous Han Solo finally got what was coming to him".

Rey was standing there by Chewie's side: the very image of helpless anger.

Chewie roared and his fur came up.

Rey was more than eager and ready to punch that sneer off of thief's face – the memory of Han Solo was vivid and hurtful to her as ever.

The criminal came to an inch of her face. She could smell his stench.

"This must be my lucky day", he said, licking his lips lasciviously, "We have a jackpot of the century, boys. This is the Resistance girl the First Order is so keen to get hold of".

Rey looked at him spitefully, her eyes almost completely black, her jaws locked in hatred.

"Lock 'em up; take the droids; inform the First Order we have what they…", Bala Tik ordered his men. But Chewie shook two of them off with a terrifying growl – it took another 3 to electro-stun him, with the poor creature falling to his knees in pain. Rey felt the stench of burned hair and flesh in the air.

"Chewie!", Rey screamed, but left her arms in air – they could hurt him even worse.

"Don't worry, lass", the smuggler said, tying her arms with handcuffs, "I know not to damage my merch. It's bad for business".

He noticed the intricate ring on her hand and took it off, completely impiously.

"Not such a tough job this Jedi, eh?" he sneered.

And as he grinned, trying to lock the hand-cuffs on Rey, she suddenly addressed him in a metallic and authoritative tone.

"You'll release me from these hand-cuffs", she said, staring at him.

The man stood silent and motionless for a split second, blinking at the bold girl.

He felt the invisible barriers of his mind, the ones he wasn't even aware existed, were falling one after another.

"I'll release you from these hand-cuffs", he said, mechanically.

The remaining Guavians jumped to their feet, roaring and raging, only to be stopped where they were standing, frozen by the influence of the invisible force.

"You'll give me your weapon and all your men's weapon", Rey commanded, "Then, you'll handcuff your men".

"I will give you my weapon and all my men's weapon", the Guavian boss parroted, "Then I'll hand-cuff them".

"Hurry, man", Rey commanded as she tore the ring from his palm.

Chewie yelped in her direction like a wounded puppy.

"I told you to stay still until R2 scrambled their outgoing signals", Rey yelled back at him, "I had everything under control".

She commanded her droids to upload all the passwords and codes of the Guavian Death gang. Gasping, she put all the blaster guns on herself and on Chewie, helping him get up.

"Hurry", she said, swaying under the weight of the injured wookie.

"Board them onto their evacuation craft and launch them to open space", she yelled to the droids. When she was sure that wookie was sitting as comfortably as possible, she went straight back to the gang and used all her mental strength to erase all their memories concerning the "Falcon".

"You never saw the "Falcon"," she said, panting, "You were on your way to Slave Bay's market when your ship's ventilation malfunctioned. You had to abandon your ship in an escape vessel. You encountered nothing and no one. You lost your ship".

She could hear the sound of her own heart pounding against her ears. What if these knuckle-heads sent a secret distress signal? What if there are more of them to come? What if the First Order picks up their signature?

Luckily, R2 managed to intercept the coded message directed to the "First Order" about the acquisition of "Falcon" and its crew. As soon as she got her hands on their ship's interface, she erased their trajectory and uploaded falsified logs.

However, she knew there is not much she can do once they were picked up by another ship, and it'll not pass a very long time before the First Order is at their tracks. She was unsure of how permanent of a memory erase she could induce – she never did this. And even with their memories erased, Kylo Ren was more than able to recognize the work of a Jedi.

She navigated their ship at an impulse speed – the weight of the "Falcon", attached to the Guavian ship, not allowing them a hyper-jump.

In a downright frenzy, she instructed the droids to try and find, among the many stolen goods, a hyper-drive module for the "Falcon".

The droids indeed restored the needed technology, but since "Falcon" was obsolete even in Han Solo's era, much work needed to be done to make the new module work in the old ship.

"The useless piece of junk!", Rey cursed, only to be met with Chewie's protests.

"I'm sorry, Chewie", she said, "But you know what I mean. I cannot hyper-jump with the "Falcon". It's little short of a miracle that the mind manipulation has worked".

Wookie growled and howled.

"I knew what I was doing", she exclaimed back, "… in principle".

Chewie barked at her with discontent.

"No, Chewie", she said, "I don't kill people. Not like that. They're out of their recent memory. Even if they get picked up soon, there's nothing they could tell anyone".

But she didn't have the time to reflect or to apologize - she had but one thought.

"Stay here and navigate the "Falcon"," she said, "the next colony is 200 impulse nodes away. Hide there and wait for my signal. We'll meet again in 3 days".

Wookie released a sad howl.

"I know, Chewie", she said, mirroring his sadness, "I would do anything to have them all back. But I can't. They're gone. We have to do the best we can".

She put her small hand on the beast's huge shoulders – he was sitting, so that was a possible feat.

"Take care of yourself and the "Falcon"," she said, "We'll see each other again, I promise".

That was yet another white lie she had to utter in a very short time.

* * *

The Guavian raptor ship jumped at hyper-speed. It was a quick and light ship built to escape fast, not to fight, and carry only light cargo. And although it could hyper-jump, it wasn't intended for long voyages. As they approached the Ahch-to system, Rey was met with the expected "low energy" warning.

"Oh, c'mon", she was exasperated, but held her breath from further complaints, since she knew all too well how bad it could get. A part of her mind found her strangely similar to Han Solo in this situation. She did something impossible and only later asked herself whether it was possible.

It made her smile with a hint of melancholy.

She looked down on the royal ring. _"It doesn't suit me"_ , she thought, looking at her unkempt fingernails, sun-burned and scratched skin. But time and time again, the spirit of that ring pressed gently against her skin like an invisible, comforting presence. The stones almost changed their color from deep blue to azure and turquoise according to her mood. Or it was just a game of her fatigue and the light, she thought.

And as if she somehow summoned its presence, the blue planet of Ahch-to has appeared before her on her dashboard, as peaceful and undisturbed as it was when she left it. First it was but a bright star in front of her, and from there it kept growing bigger in the glass before her. The planet's majestic blue expanded in front of her and she was again mesmerized so much with its flawless, brilliant color that she even allowed herself a briefest moment of awe and hope.

She was, after all, a desert kid.

But as her path progressed, the faintest shadow fled through her mind, a little more than the basic reflex. She jumped like a lioness against the control table, hard-switching everything, letting the ship stays afloat in the open space.

She grabbed hold of the ship's steering gear and turned the ship manually, the handle and the heavy machinery under her moaning. She held her breath, observing as the ship was slowly rotating away from the planet. She was left in utter darkness, illuminated only with the dim red lights of ship's power-saving mode.

She tried to fight this interception, but felt her strength was failing her – the effort of containing the whole Guavian gang was too much for her. She only needed some time to regenerate – and there was no time.

He projected himself in front of her, but kept silent for some time. Instinctively, she touched the ring - the involuntary gesture attracting his attention. He recognized it instantly. But apart from the momentary recognition, his face remained undecipherable.

A part of her hoped that the bond they had has disappeared altogether at Crait.

But she knew it didn't. She could see him on Dagobah, and she knew he could do the same. The visions became few and far apart, but they didn't just vanish because she wished them away.

Or perhaps she didn't wish them away hard enough. But that was an unnecessary, unsettling thought.

Rey was first to speak.

"You cannot find me", she said with a low roar, "You can see only what I see".

"You're tired", he said, as if her exhaustion was a living and breathing thing he could touch, "And afraid. Your Master has left you. You thought you were alone before? Look at you now".

"I'm not tired", she snapped back at him, "My powers are growing with the each passing second and you know it. And I am not afraid – you are. Soon, your subordinates will find out the truth. You must act fast, so you make mistakes, Ren. And I am good in waiting. I'll wait for you to make _that_ mistake".

And she meant it. He was like an open wound to her, she realized. She could feel their energies merging and soaring in the Throne Room. It felt so right and so meaningful, like it should've always been. And now, they are again confronted, their confrontation ever more deepened. She longed to be released from this burden.

He replied with that strange amalgam of gentleness and threat.

"And when they find out, what can they do, scavenger? What anyone of you can do? And as for your power…" he paused for a bit as he was keenly examining the interior of the ship, "As your power grows, so does mine. And you know that too. Who do you think made this connection possible? Snoke's dead. It's only the two of us now, Rey".

She clenched her fists across the steering and felt a terrible explosion of rage. There was something of an insult and a taunt in his words that left her exasperated. Rey wanted this weight to be lifted once and for all.

The single-mindedness of that desire inspired her.

"Go away", she roared and violently punched the steering.

His apparition disappeared.

She was left alone, in complete silence, with only her own panting and racing heart to disturb the great calm. She quickly turned on all the engines and plummeted to Ahch-to at full speed. She kept her eyes fixed on the dashboard and away from the navigation. And as the ship penetrated the atmosphere, exhausting the last remaining fumes of the fuel, she realized her hands were trembling.

Chapter III.

"This never goes the way you think".

 _Synopsis: Rey reaches Ahch-to and rushes to meet Luke's ghost. However, it won't go the way she expected._

Although she didn't expect to be met with much joy, she didn't expect the Caretakers to be openly discontented.

They were waving their little paw-like hands at her, blubbering in full speed in their strange dialect. They were pointing at the Force Tree, yelling, lamenting and threatening.

"Boil my foot in seaweed soup?", Rey was struggling to understand.

But she didn't have much time. Nevertheless how disgruntled they were, she needed their help.

"Look", she said, showing them the fragments of Luke's saber "Help me. I must save it".

The Caretakers were frozen in shock – one of them even fainting at the sight. Their pause lasted for but a few seconds, and Rey saw them inspecting her and the broken blade with extreme distrust.

She lowered herself to one knee and offered them the broken blade, as a token of peace.

"Please", she whispered, as not to frighten the little creatures, "I need your help. For Master Luke's sake, please. Please".

One of the Caretakers, looking particularly old and shrunken, came closer, sniffing at her like a little dog. She was blind in one eye and used a walking stick to support herself. Rey avoided the direct eye contact with her, fearing she might insult the little frail creature.

"Please", she whispered again, her voice now trembling, "The Dark Side is rising. I cannot stop them without the blade. The evil men will come. It is only a matter of time. I must stop them".

The old Caretaker looked at her again with open distrust, muttered something very similar to a curse (as far as Rey could understand, using that little information she gathered from the Jedi texts and using her Force – heightened intuition), and then snatched the fragments from her hands with an unexpected virility.

The Caretakers were again shouting, jumping and swirling around her like a wave. The old Keeper – whom she presumed was something of their elder – let the younglings touch the shreds of the blade, examine it, spin it around. They began something of an argument, shouting at one another and even using their little fists against one another.

"I don't understand the language. I'm lost… I'm…"

She felt her throat almost choked. She fell to her knees, trying to push down on the tears. She was tired. The Force within her was rising, no doubt about that. But she felt like she was nothing more than a vessel for all this energy – a vessel incomplete and imperfect.

The Elder stopped her sisterhood from yelling and fighting, and looked at the young distressed Jedi inquisitively.

"I need your help", she said, almost breathless, "The ancient texts say little about the regeneration of the blade. Please, I can't do this alone".

The loneliness and the despair of her situation were weighing heavily down on her. A part of her hoped to find some sort of peace and encouragement on this place. Some sort of consoling hum from the Force Tree. She yearned for the healing power of this island. But she found nothing. Not even a slightest sound. The Force Tree was burnt down in her absence. The only remaining witnesses to this great drama and potential wardens of the great truths were these little irrational creatures. It all looked like a joke.

Kylo Ren was right. You can always count on darkness for some purely rational council.

However, through the veil of tears, she could see the elder pointing at her and ordering her something in his ancient tongue.

"See Master Fly?" she whispered, unsure in her linguistics as ever.

But the elder was persistent and pointed her to the peak of the island.

"Yes, I'll go", she complied and rose to her feet.

* * *

He woke up again in cold sweat, this time dreaming of his old Jedi Master slaughtering him on Crait, his own dark blood mixing with the crimson red of the planet's mineral.

The wound on his face and on his chest was burning. He rushed to the mirror, feeling the blood dripping down his face and chest. As he approached the mirror, he could see there was nothing more but the new scar tissue, tight and almost opalescent.

He couldn't allow to be seen this way. Since he became the Lord of the Knights of Ren, he was always sleeping fully clothed and with his weapon by his side – this time, he ripped open the shirt and had to make haste to pull it back together.

He looked at his hand, like it wasn't his own. His fingertips retained the trace of her compassion.

He touched the wound on his face, as if he wanted to subdue the pain with the lingering feeling of whatever compassion she ever had for him.

The pain indeed subsided, but his mind was troubled.

His mind was always troubled.

His officer's feeble and reluctant voice pulled him from these useless wanderings.

"My Lord", the officer cleared his throat.

"What do you want?" the irritated Supreme Leader asked, pulling his gloves up.

"We've received information regarding the Jedi from the Guavian Death Gang", the officer said, "The man claims they were intercepted by the "Millenium Falcon"."

Supreme Leader turned to his officer and pierced him with his gaze.

"Where is this man now?" he growled.

The officer, kneeling on his one knee, shuddered and answered:

"He is being pulled to our ship as we speak, My Lord. But I must warn you, My Lord…"

"What?"

"The man doesn't sound like he's right in his mind. We picked him and his crew in the Xon'ra system, locked away in an escape craft. They looked like they evacuated from their own ship in delirium. No provisions, energy level low, they could've been floating in the space for at least 7 days… we'd shot the ship down haven't you've ordered to inform you about anything concerning the Resistance… and the girl".

"She used them to get to the island", Ren interrupted him, "Show me the man".

"At once, My Lord", the officer complied.

The man's mind was in disarray and he couldn't stop blubbering about the payment, the ship, the "Falcon", the big hairy creature and the girl.

Ren didn't waste his time on the poor fool. He extracted whatever was left of his recent memory and found a chaos of thoughts, ideas torn apart like shreds of paper – no doubt, this man was attacked mentally and violently so. On the other hand, the smuggler didn't exactly obey the strict orders not to harm the prisoner or to treat prisoner as highly dangerous. That was only his loss. Ren pushed further into this man's brain as the poor criminal howled in pain.

Kylo Ren found a singular pleasure in examining the effects of her rage. She was a rough diamond. She was hitting like a hammer, and was merciless when provoked – brave and single minded when needed. He wouldn't interfere with that rough structure much. He'd only reverse the polarity of her unbridled energy if he had the chance.

Through Bala Tik's eyes, he could witness to what he suspected since their clash in the Throne Room – Luke's saber was broken.

However, man's memory was placed too long ago in the past – if she reached Acht-to, she was clever enough not to stay there for more than 3 days, the 3 days being that mystical period of time needed for any Jedi affair to be complete. A small part of him welcomed this information. If they'd meet, she wouldn't give in to the Dark Side, not on Ahch-to. She'd fight him, probably without her arms, since reconstructing a broken Jedi sword was by no means an easy feat. Perhaps this time he'd put her to his sword. And then the last thread that kept him alive would be lost for good.

He wanted to be confronted with her in the full range of her abilities and her rage. A humble, disarmed Jedi is particularly difficult to convert (the Sith and Ren archives were very detailed on this). However, a proud, fully armed Jedi was prone to violence, to rage and to vanity. And these were the doorways for the Dark Force to act.

"Enough", the Supreme Leader said, releasing his hold on the smuggler, "You have served the First Order well".

Bala Tik fell to the ground dead, leaving the obedient First Order officers in utter terror.

Chapter IV.

Old foes, new woes.

 _Synopsis: Rey has a long overdue conversation. Ren dispatches envoys to Mandalore. Poe receives some puzzling news._

She struggled to the top of the island, following the Caretakers. The irony at the core of Jedi belief was completely tangible with the little aliens – so much knowledge concentrated in tiny, whimsical bodies. So much power imbibed in a single troubled adolescent from Hanna City; or in a single abandoned girl, sold to child slavery on a desert planet in the middle of nowhere, for that matter.

She looked around, using the staff to support herself against the steep cliffs. The sea was restless. The skies were overcast. The atmosphere felt heavy, as if a long, heavy storm would ensue. Even the Porgs were unusually quiet.

The Caretakers mimicked her to sit in front of the cabins and wait, so she obeyed, leaving her bag filled with Jedi texts on the ground.

Some time passed. The skies darkened as the evening was closing in and the first raindrops hit her shoulders and head. The cabins were bolted and looked completely deserted. The darkness around her thickened, but she didn't even bring the glow-rod with her, cautious of attracting the unwarranted attention. She didn't fear the technology of the First Order. She feared only the Force bond with Kylo Ren and how too much of activity on her part might somehow re-ignite it, involuntarily.

She shuddered – she was a desert kid, after all.

And as she was contemplating if the Caretakers made some terrible and ill-timed joke with her, she heard a familiar voice from behind her.

"The same place, again, _padawan_ – but this time, a new woe. That is the way of the Jedi – same old, with the exception of errors. They're always new".

She turned around and exclaimed, with immense joy and awe:

"Master!"

It was his spirit. But, perhaps with the help of this mystical island, he looked as tangible and as real as she remembered him. Her first impulse was to jump to his side and embrace the Jedi, but he gestured her to stay still.

He looked at his sister's ring and his gaze darkened. His expression altogether changed: he looked like a broken old man now more than ever before. But it lasted for a second, no more.

"Now, what did you do to my saber?", he said energetically, with the tone of a school-teacher scolding an unruly student for leaving ink blots in its homework.

* * *

He abandoned the whole concept of throne room. Snoke pertained to it not because of tradition, but because he was physically frail and his feet hurt. His spine needed support and the throne room was an ideal way to conceal all of his shortcomings while still maintaining the appearance of majesty.

Vain old fool.

When Hux addressed him, Ren was sitting in his command chair, examining the Outer Rim charts with his communication officers surrounding him. Everyone was visibly uneasy around Ren and this uneasiness seemed to bring him some direct, real benefit. Hux knew the Sith and Ren orders alike could drain people out of their energy by inducing fear.

He resented being in his presence, but he had no way out of it. He was summoned by the Supreme Leader.

"General", Ren uttered, without so much of looking in Hux's direction, "Your informants are incompetent. I've been told that the Resistance has tried, time and time again, to contact their old allies in the Outer Rim".

Hux trembled.

"Why haven't I heard directly from you about this?", Ren continued again in that peculiar manner of a soft-spoken threat.

"Supreme Leader", Hux's voice attained a nervously high pitch, "None of their allies has answered them as until now. The shreds of Resistance are pathetic. I didn't want to disturb you with such… banalities".

"General", he answered in that same manner, like a perverted version of a tutor teaching his weak-minded pupil, "I am completely and painfully aware you are not able to grasp the inner workings of the Force. As long as the single Jedi breathes, there will be a way for restlessness to enter the hearts of many. Jedi promote rebellion, unruliness and chaos with their very presence. There is no reasoning with them. There is no ignoring them, as you so foolishly imply. The only way for the order to be protected is by capturing every single one of them and destroying their resistance".

"Supreme Leader", Hux squealed, "My men are under constant orders to seek and destroy".

"And what have they found? What exactly is that _my_ men have destroyed?", Ren asked.

Hux felt the air growing dense around him and panicked. He hated all Force users, his own Leader even more passionately than the Jedi, whom he considered practically extinct.

"We have located and punished all the potential rebel sympathizers and supporters", Hux screamed, "We destroyed villages, clandestine underground bases, equipment".

"No, General", Ren said, loosening the grip for a moment, "Let me teach you what you did. You killed some insignificant, scared farmers who have no interest in high politics whatsoever. You sow unnecessary terror that will give birth to unnecessary resentment. You have destroyed a junkyard or two. And by all of this, you've proven yourself weak. You've exposed the First Order to ridicule. You've jeopardized potential new alliances".

"Instruct me, My Lord", Hux exclaimed, his eyes blazing with scorn and fear, "Tell me what have you seen in your visions and my… your men will storm every single stronghold you see as a threat".

Ren stared at him blankly for a moment. Hux anticipated some outburst of rage, but Ren seemed disinterested, even bored.

And then he stood up, his hands by his sides. And even though he made no movement and no visible effort at all, Hux felt his throat closing in. _Not again_ , he thought, feeling the mortal fear overcoming him.

"I don't think I appreciate the tone of your voice, General", he said coldly as Hux began to gurgle, "But I do appreciate that Leader Snoke was wise and had his own reasons for keeping you in a place of such a great power. And I am meeker than Lord Snoke", he said, mockingly, "I'll give you the chance to prove yourself worthy of your position".

He finally let loose. Hux staggered and coughed, feeling that some blood vessels in his throat were broken.

Hux took an instinctive step back. Snoke was an alien giant, but in his own way completely predictable, which agreed with Hux more than the presence of a physically fit, quick-tempered and volatile Jedi Killer, who was seemingly becoming even more unhinged than before. Ever since Crait, Kylo Ren had moments that sent all his personnel cold quivers down their spines – he'd simply stare somewhere else and into the void. This would last for no more than few seconds, but it left all of them with a deeply unnerving feeling. He'd lash out against the equipment more frequently and violently than before. He was seen roaming the corridors with the expression of a wounded predator on his face, leaving an impression that the new Leader was somehow losing his mind. _If he had one to begin with,_ Hux thought with spite and fear.

Hux raised his bloodied gaze, finding it impossible to conceal the hatred he had for Kylo Ren.

"I'm sending you to an important mission to Mandalore", Ren told him coldly.

"Mandalore?!", Hux exclaimed in hoarse voice, and coughed, "Supreme Leader! It's a…"

"Yes, Mandalorians are hard nuts. But they've fought side by side with the Empire, and we are the new Empire. Appeal on their sense of loyalty – they have that in abundance. Remind them of all the possibilities they have if they support the First Order. Remind them of the constant war and glory the First Order can provide them with. And of course, use your flattery and your bribery… but caution, General. Mandalorians can be easily insulted. Do not over-reach yourself and do not underestimate them. It will be a welcoming test of your abilities, General. I will anxiously await your return".

Hux trembled with rage, but found himself caught between the proverbial rock and the hard place.

"As my Commander wishes", Hux muttered and collected himself from that accursed place.

* * *

Her Master was examining the broken hilt.

He didn't speak a word. The silence felt like the longest day to her.

"Too much rage", he uttered at last.

"Yes, Kylo Ren is growing more powerful by each passing day and ever more dangerous", she replied, wondering why this fact was even brought up again.

"No, Rey", Luke answered, "I mean, _your_ rage".

She was left speechless. If lighting was to strike her where she was standing, it would be a lesser shock.

"I couldn't allow him to take it", she whispered, "I'd be helpless without it".

"Rey, a light-saber doesn't make a Jedi. You cling to things too much", Luke answered, "And in the process, you've broken it as much as he did. If this was a test, then you failed it, Rey".

He handed the broken hilt to her again.

She was by this point sipping with anger.

"Then teach me about the ways to control my anger", she exclaimed, "Teach me about the ways to heal this blade without destroying it further. I know you possess the knowledge. I know the saber is not forged by mere technology alone".

"I will put the blade together again", he said, "But I cannot make it work. It is your blade now and it is tainted with your rage and your regret. You must overcome it. Let the rage precede your judgment and you're only going to invite the darkness to inhabit the blade. You have to bleed the Dark Side out of the kyber crystal".

"How is it done, Master?", Rey pursued the enigmatic spirit fervently, "Tell me!"

"You must meditate", Luke said, "You must discard all the superficial tendencies. You have to dwell deeper than before. You must become compassionate".

And as he was approaching his old cabin with the same world-weary step of an old Jedi, he added:

"And in the end, _if_ you're ready, you have to face the Dark Side head on".

* * *

"An outcast Jedi, Ahsoka Tano, is the only Jedi who purged a saber from the energies of the Dark Side in recent history", Luke taught Rey, "And I suspect her not being a fully fledged Jedi helped her in that feat".

"Power corrupts very easily, Rey", he added, looking at her with concern and inquisitiveness, "Therefore, to be born on that junkyard planet was no joke on part of the Force. It was the only way to protect you from falling into temptation. However, Rey, no man can run away from temptation forever. Not even you, _padawan_ ".

Rey had to smile at the new title she received. Although they were just two solitary figures surrounded by bleak vast reality, she felt secure and consoled by this small act of kindness and belonging. He never called her like that before, his disillusionment with the Jedi order prompting him to avoid almost everything that reminded him of the history he deemed a tragic failure.

"Let's start", Luke said and reached for a small wooden chest with swiftness that far surpassed his physical age.

Rey tensed and crossed her legs on the ground.

What it'll be? Meditation? Ancient Jedi rituals? Revelations her Master garnered from the other side?

"Catch", the old Jedi said and threw something in Rey's lap.

Rey looked down on the object, her face confused.

"It's a welder's mask", she uttered.

"Of course it is, kid", Luke said, with slight annoyance, "What do you think, how we'll ever put the handle back in place?"

* * *

"Sir?"

Poe pulled his head from the cockpit he was trying to fix – it'd be far easier were his little droid here, but he did stupid things all the time. He let Rey go, and faced burning dissatisfaction from the rest of the Council. He didn't go with Rey himself. He should've resisted her resolution more. They were 5 days in since she left, with no sign of her or Chewie. He was tense and restless as never before.

It was Kaydel Connix. Behind her professional decorum, he could sense her confusion.

"What's up, Kay?", Poe said, frowning.

"We received a dispatch from Mandalore 10 minutes ago", she answered, "The signal was scrambled, and 3PO had some difficulty in translating Mando'a but… their frequency seems valid".

"Mandalorians", Poe murmured, feeling uneasy, "I thought they killed each other off years ago. Are you sure, Kay?"

"Positive as anyone can be in this situation, Sir", she said, "And another thing… they communicated through late General's personal frequency".

Poe felt his mouth was open wide by this point, but he jumped to his feet and pulled Kaydel with him.

"Show me", he said, "Tell me exactly what they've said".

* * *

Poe rushed to the small improvised communication room, cramped with the surviving Resistance fighters. 3PO went out to intercept Poe.

"Sir", 3PO exclaimed, "The Mandalore demands to speak to Princess Leia. They didn't want to accept the late General is… indisposed. They demand only her and no one else".

"Let me speak to them", Poe said energetically, "Damn fools, it was always their way or no way at all. Plug in, 3PO, and translate".

Poe inhaled deeply and with sweat dripping from his face onto the communication console, said in firm and steady voice.

"This is General Poe Dameron of the Resistance Army, representing the Resistance Council and General Leia Organa".

There was static on the other side. Poe felt as if all air was sucked out from the room as the highly anxious officers stood and observed, encircling him and the console.

The worst sorts of ideas came into his brain like a tidal wave. What if this is a breach of their hidden channels? What if the next voice he hear be Hux's, informing him in his unbearably arrogant tone that their position has been compromised? What if there is no warning, just a violent attack that'll evaporate them all into oblivion?

"This is Alor Trosyc of Mandalore", a distorted voice answered, "Where is General Leia Organa?"

"General Organa is for the time indisposed, Alor Trosyc", Poe answered directly and in complete disbelief. He whispered to 3PO: "What do we know of this guy? Is this for real?"

A communication officer answered:

" _She_ seems to be newly appointed ruler of her clan, General. She is the adopted daughter of Bo Katan Kryze. That's at least what our files say. But they are at least 5 years old".

"A Mandalorian female warrior", said Poe, more to himself, "Somebody needs to slap me in my face".

"Actually, Mandalorian women are known as excellent warriors", 3PO said, "In fact, during the Cold war…"

Poe gestured at 3PO, annoyed as another long pause ensued. It appeared that communication was heavily obstructed.

"Do not lie, Poe Dameron of the Resistance", the voice again replied, this time with a tone that resounded like a hiss, "We have heard rumors that General Organa has ceased to exist. Is that correct?"

"If you already know the answer, why bother asking the question?", Poe was always ready for a tongue-in-cheek conversation.

"Sir", 3PO said, "If I may advise, it is not recommendable to address a Mandalorian in that tone of voice".

Poe waved his hand at him in annoyance.

"Who is your source? Where did you get all this information?", Poe asked this time first, without waiting the response from the other side.

"Mandalore was visited by a First Order _hut'tuun_ by the name of Hux", the distant voice replied in a matter-of-factly.

"That would be most appropriately translated as 'coward', although the Mandalorian nouns do not function the same way…", 3PO interrupted, only to be pushed away by Dameron.

"Whatever Hux told you, Alor", Poe almost snapped at the console, "I warn you he is a lying, treacherous weasel and shouldn't be trusted with anything he says. Whatever he promised to you and the Mandalore, I can assure you the First Order is no ally to you".

"And is Resistance an ally to Mandalore?"

"Resistance is an ally to anyone who fights the First Order, Alor", Poe answered.

"Jedi produced the _darjetii_. Darjetii made the Empire. Empire destroyed many clans and took many slaves", the voice was getting more and more truncated, "Resistance is the New Republic. You have a young _jetii_ with you".

"That is one way to think about it", Poe said exasperatedly, his mind rushing to the evacuation plan before this conversation is over.

"Sir", 3PO came back to his feet, "Slavery is a grave insult in Mandalorian tradition. It is a fate almost as bad as _dar'manda_ ".

Poe felt his anger and frustration rising. He poured out what he harbored in his heart for some time now.

"But if I may ask you, Alor Trosyc: where were you three cycles ago, when we sent you the distress signal from Crait? We fought in a way that would put even the greatest Mandalorian to shame".

"There is no appropriate word for 'shame' in Mandalorian, Sir…"

"Shut up, 3PO!", Poe yelled, "And as for the young Jedi, every single remaining Resistance officer would give his or hers life without a blink of an eye for her, as she would for us. How's that for your famed Mandalorian code of honor?"

Poe smashed the console panting, pausing the communication. Everybody around him looked horrified.

"What", Poe downright screamed at them, red in the face and acutely ashamed of his outburst, "I'm sick and tired of tradition this, tradition that. They can stick that tradition right up their mercenary asses, for all I care. Officer", he addressed petrified Kaydel, "Start the evacuation plan. I doubt these buffoons are Mandalorians. And even if they're, I see no reason to sit here and exchange cultural references with traitors all morning".

Kay was one of his most loyal officers and never contradicted him. This time, however, he sensed her intense non-approval.

"Sir", communication officer exclaimed, "They're again trying to reach us. What should I tell them?"

And before Poe could direct another snarky comment, the hologramic projector has activated itself. It was a wobbly, unclear image of a female humanoid in full body armor. The lower part of her skull was shaven and tattoed. The top of her head was covered with complicate braids falling to her shoulders, indicating the high rank within her clan. His face was tattooed as well on her cheek bones, forehead and nose.

Kay answered in Poe's stead.

"Turn on the vocal transmission", she exclaimed.

And before Poe could protest, she waved her fist at him. "With all due respect, Sir", she said, "I've served you a long time and was as loyal an officer to you as anyone. I know you better than anyone. I'd jump into Starkiller Base reactor core if you ordered me to. And precisely because of that, you'll glue your ass to your chair and zip it".

"We have contact", the communication officer exclaimed.

Satine Trosyc looked in Poe's direction with an undecipherable gaze of her elongated irises, which looked almost cat-like.

"Mandalore fights when Mandalore wills", the warrior said, "We fight not for money, for territory, for politics. The canniness of Jedi was the downfall of Mandalore. It brought misery and division to our clans. We fight to protect our families, our land and our honor. My _buir_ Bo Katan turned her back to both Jedi and the Sith. She was killed by traitors of Saxon clan. Since then, I vowed to bring Mandalore back to its people. Saxon sold its people to First Order. Saxon is _aruetii_ ".

"We do not acknowledge _aruetii_ as our leader. We caught Hux on its way to Saxon".

"Mandalore will stand with the Resistance and the young jetii", Trosyc said firmly.

The room full of people terrified and battle-weary stood in utter disbelief and silence.

Poe was again in a short time left speechless.

"Where is the young _Jetii_?" Trosyc asked.

"Alor", Poe answered, "She's left to the secret Jedi temple to find some lost wisdom. I cannot tell you the location. But she left with the very trusted man and our best ship and I expect her any day now…"

"So", Trosyc interrupted, "The "Falcon", the wookie creature and your _Jetii_ are at Ahch-to, as we suspected. We shall go there at once. _Hut'tuun_ suspects this. We shall stop him".

Everybody in the room, Poe included, froze where they were standing.

"You let Hux go?!", Poe yelled, "You let Hux go with that information?!"

"It is never Mandalorian way to kill envoys, it is _na'dummyc_ ", Trosyc said in a matter-of-fact way, "Hux is alive, but he has a long journey ahead of him. If the Force allows it, he'll go back to his master. If not, that's what Force wills it too".

Poe nodded at her. There was no more time or place to argue. He was completely awe struck by the fact they have the support, be as it may, from these fierce warriors. He didn't even ask how many would stand with the Resistance – but every man and woman was invaluable. "Truly", Poe said to himself, "Could it be that we are the spark that will light up the fire that will burn the First Order?"

His heart was infected with new found battle enthusiasm.

"I'll go with you", Poe exclaimed, "Send me the meeting coordinates".

The projection of Trosyc nodded back.

The communication officer exclaimed: "We received the coordinates, Sir".

Poe nodded, his muscles flexing.

"We shall meet there in 1 hour, Alor", he told to the armored figure, "May the Force be with you".

Poe felt weirdly. He wasn't a man of great words. To him, the phrase sounded even now, although appropriate, completely off and silly in his own execution.

 _"I'm getting more spiritual by each passing day"_ , he thought to himself.

Chapter V.

New alliance.

 _Synopsis: Poe and the Mandalorians reach Ahch-to. Rey's saber is finished, but to what extent? The small fleet of the new Alliance is intercepted._

Finn overheard the commotion from the improvised sick bay. Rose was still on life-support. She was fighting, but she was very weak. And with very rudimentary medicinal help they had, Finn started losing hope his comrade will ever wake up again. What If there is sudden evacuation? What if they can't move her in her present state? He was prepared to stay by her side, no matter what. Her sacrifice humbled him. In the ensuing weeks, he understood the full meaning of her words. It is far more important to protect those who we love than to destroy what we hate, when the Light dims. Rey's presence lifted his spirits. But there is only so much she could do. And she was absent for some time now, adding to his already worried mind.

He left Rose's bedside with a promise that he'll return soon (in his heart, he wanted to believe she can hear him). Then he rushed to the communication centre – an improvised chamber dug up in earth – to see everyone rushing left and right.

Poe bumped against him.

"Finn", he slapped his friend on the shoulder, "We're on the move. We need to go. I'll explain to you on our way".

"Where, what, why?", Finn uttered, but had to chase after Poe who was picking up parts of his pilot uniform.

"Rey might be in danger", Poe said, "The First Order is scanning the Ahch-to region. I don't know if they'll bust on her or not, but I won't take the chances. We'll take old man's craft. It's the only one capable of decent flying and hyper-jump. I need volunteers. And you're volunteering".

Finn stopped midway, while a dozen of Resistance fighters rushed to the stolen craft.

Rose. He can't leave Rose.

Poe paused and glanced at Finn, reading his worried mind completely.

"There is good medical staff around there", he said, "She'll be fine. She knows you're there for her. But this time, if we don't help Rey, then any of this", Poe gestured at the miniature base, "Has no meaning. C'mon".

Finn looked at Poe with some surprise.

"This General title makes you wiser by each day", he said.

"Well", Poe replied, "It's either that or I'm sick and tired of growing moss in this swamp".

* * *

The saber has been pulled together indeed, with an amazing precision considering it was done with very modest (and outdated) welding equipment. It became completely apparent to Rey that the construction of the blade didn't depend on the technology alone. It was her Master's presence that acted like a _spiritus movens_. But as their work was coming to an end, she began to realize that this is now becoming her own weapon, something that has a part of her own self within it. She was but a loyal warden of old treasure before. Now something else was happening. And she trusted her Master he knew what he was doing.

On the outside, he looked as simple as any other elder fixing his blaster, or his fishing gear, or a hydraulic pump on a moisture farm on Tatooine.

"Rey, Darkness chases after Light. Light pursues Darkness", he told her that morning, as if he was telling a fairy tale to a child, "But at some point, they must meet. You cannot run away forever. It is one of the aspects of the Balance".

He handed the finished handle to her with a simple gesture. She accepted it with awe.

"It looks different. It feels… different", she said, frowning. Then she turned the handle around and exclaimed, utterly amazed: "It has two exhaust vents".

"Yes", Luke answered, "I decided to modify it so it better suits _you_ ".

"You mean, my old quarterstaff?", she said, with a joy of a child who got its special toy, "But you complained I have no style and no technique because of that _garbage_ ".

"Yes, your old quarterstaff", Luke replied, "And I still have the same opinion on it, though. But, you do not need the elegance of the Jedi. Elegance, royalty, grandiose temples… those things are contrary to the very core of the Jedi religion".

Rey listened carefully and felt almost mesmerized. She found the activation button on the blade and somewhat reluctantly, clicked on it.

But the blade was mum.

"Still want to do it your way, don't you?", the old Jedi asked and gestured to her, "Sit here. Hold the blade so I can hold it as well. There. You know the drill. Close your eyes. Focus on the blade".

Rey obeyed and tried to silence her thoughts the best she could. She could feel the languid ocean breeze on her face. Nothing was out of the ordinary for some time. The blade felt slick and cold, the earth smelled of recent rains. Distant chattering of Caretakers and murmurs of Porgs resonated somewhere between the cliffs and the ocean.

"Focus, Rey", he repeated, "What do you see?"

Rey thought that perhaps the tranquility of the island affected her senses. Perhaps she became sleepy, because the blade felt strangely dormant as well.

"The blade is dormant", she murmured, "I can feel its presence in the Force. But it won't address me".

"Superficial sensations, Rey", her Master replied, his voice now appearing further from her than it was before, "Look deeper".

Rey couldn't be sure whether it was an illusion of her nerves, but she sensed something akin to a very deep electric current inside the handle. She was curiously drawn to this current and found herself immersed into the core of the blade, into its very subatomic structure. It was like descend into the cave. Her spirit had to crawl through narrow and dark passages. She couldn't discern what is that the blade was trying to communicate to her, but she could feel its vitality and its presence rising.

And then, images began to form.

"I see", she slowly responded, "The Balance".

"What sort of balance, Rey?", Luke's voice, now nothing more than a whispering echo, asked her.

"It is the future Balance", she replied, "It's the new world built from the remnants of the old. The old ways haven't vanished. They're transformed into something truthful. Something sacred and noble and wise – it feels right. It feels like prophecy fulfilled".

"And the transformation, Rey?", her Master asked.

Rey had to pull back some time in the future – because she could distinctly feel all of this was pointing to sometime in the future – and she almost screamed.

"War, destruction, retribution, sacrifice", she moaned in pain, "So much suffering, Master, and the victory of death. Death in flames… it's terrifying. I can't stand it".

Her Master's voice became more distinct:

"Stay where you are, Rey! Focus!"

But she felt like her inner being was pulled in million different pieces and she let loose of the blade, terrified.

Luke looked slightly disappointed, but shrugged off that disappointment as if it was something he ultimately expected to happen.

Rey frowned and quivered, clenching her fist against the blade. This time boldly and impetuously, she activated the handle. The power of the blade activated almost made her arm recoil. It cracked and shone brilliantly blue, and Rey thought that it was even more brilliant that she remembered.

But in stark contrast to her awe, her Master seemed very unimpressed.

"It still isn't done yet", he said very simply and very quizzically at the same.

Rey swung the two-sided blade around her, relishing in its easiness, and how good the active hilt felt against her palm. She swirled it around for few second. It felt like a gentle dance on the ocean air.

She didn't quite grasp how unfinished this piece of artwork could be. She felt a growing sympathy for the blade. It now truly felt like it belonged to her, like it was somehow essentially bound to her. It emanated joy and steadiness, and she felt the troublesome visions she had were as far flung from the true nature of this blade as possible.

"If it isn't ready now", Rey asked eventually, "When will it be?"

"When you are, Rey", the old Master answered, "You're still struggling. You still hold on to ideas and people. You are still afraid".

She understood his words and felt an immediate rush of blood to her head. She deactivated the saber and placed it in the new scabbard.

"I do not. It is now over. I was vain enough to believe that I'd succeed where you, the Jedi Master, have failed. I am sorry. I can't even begin to think what would happen had he followed Snoke's orders and cut me down in that room".

"But he didn't".

She looked at the old Master, puzzled.

"No, he didn't", she said, "Because sometimes the vultures devour one another. Treason is in their nature".

Luke's response was sudden.

"If you see the opportunity to cut _him_ down, you'll do it?"

Rey looked at him. She felt uneasy and although Luke seemed peaceful, even slightly whimsical, she felt he deliberated on her decidedness.

And that mistrust hurt her.

"If it is necessary, yes", she admitted, "I am no murderer. But, I cannot see another way. One day, and I think it'll come soon, we'll clash again. He'll try to destroy what I need to protect. And that will be the end".

"And you're certain you'll win?", Luke asked.

"What do you think, Master?", she replied with the defiance of a rebellious student, "What are my odds? What are the odds of Light Side to win?"

"Ah", Luke grinned and clapped with his hands and laughed. "Do not ever give up on your spirit, Rey".

He again jumped swiftly to his feet. He had a boyish stature and a quirky mind that shone through his world-weariness time and time again. Rey realized she didn't only grow to respect the Master, but also to like that unruly, impetuous and human side of him. She smiled. In the end, he somehow took a greater part of her burden away.

"Go get ready", he said, "Your friends are on their way to Ahch-to. And they bring new allies with them".

"What? Why? Why are you telling me this only now?", she said, and a quiver went down her spine, "The First Order? Is it them?"

"My wayward nephew", Luke said playfully, "Is on your trail, he will always be that way – till his last breath. But – he carries a cargo with him as heavy as all the matter there is. It weighs him down. And this island is his forever blind spot. Don't worry".

And as she opened her mouth to confront him for his excessive playfulness, he was already gone – but a weak ocean breeze remained behind him.

* * *

She could recognize the unique shape of the light escape craft she took from the "Supremacy" and three other ships whose design was completely alien to her.

The vessels landed roaring on the beach, sending swirls of sand into the air.

Soon, she recognized Finn and Poe, a dozen of Resistance soldiers and at least twice as much of fully armored warriors in exotic armors.

"Poe! Finn!", she yelled, rushing to both of them and hugging them frantically, "You have to contact Chewie. He's on Illineum system with both droids and the "Falcon". We were ambushed by the Guavians, Chewie was injured. Your droid is fine", she said, seeing Poe's inquisitive look.

She then glanced to the accompanying Mandalorians.

"Rey", Poe said, "These are the allies of the Resistance. They come from Mandalore. This is their leader, Alor Satine Trosyc".

Poe saw Satine Trosyc in person for the first time now and was startled by her lean and incredibly strong physique. She and her squadron were exceptionally tall, long limbed, dressed in exotic armors painted with different tribal symbols and represented a truly fomridable bunch. Satine removed her owl-head shaped and battle scarred helmet to reveal an elongated face with intricate tattoos and facial features that were, although not quite human, very compelling. She had almost no white in her eyes, only large, dark irises that where somewhat cat-like.

Rey on her part was absolutely fascinated. She only heard about Mandalore from the stories and regarded, as many, this foreign culture to be more or less a figment of imagination. She was completely awe-struck as she nodded to Trosyc and her men and women.

"So, this is the young _jetii_ ", Trosyc said, using the translation device. It was hard to read her elongated alien face.

But in the next moment, she and his squadron burst into what was unmistakably laughter.

Some of them communicated amongst themselves in their foreign language – Rey thought, there was more than just one, and they still understood each other perfectly. She felt just a slight pang of wounded ego, but then realized something truly remarkable. As they were murmuring amongst themselves and snickering (yes, it was definite snickering), she began to pick up their words and understand them as whole sentences. She never spoke Mando'a, she never even met a real Mandalorian – but there it was, the Force spoke through her.

" _Copaani mirshmure'cye, vod?"_ Rey uttered boldly.

Trosyc stopped laughing, her cat-like eyes widened, some of her men reaching for their weapons.

"Rey… whatever you told them, I think it's for the best that you apologize", Finn whispered, trying to push Rey behind him. But Rey gestured at him to stop. Some unknown part of her whispered her that Mandalorians value boldness, even borderline cheekiness, very much.

Trosyc examined the girl sternly with her alien gaze for a moment, and as if he saw something to her liking, she again grinned. Her teeth slightly resembled fish teeth, Poe realized.

He also realized she was no less attractive, either. _"Damn it, man",_ Poe cursed himself.

" _Mandokarla_ ", she said and nodded to her men, who echoed her words and nodded back.

" _Meevar kar'tayl Mando'a_?"

Rey waved her head left and right.

" _N'akarmir._ I listen, then I learn", Rey responded, gesturing at her heart and her ear.

" _Jate'kara_ ", laughed Trosyc and embraced Rey like a drunken boxer after a good bar fight.

"A true _jetii_ ", she gestured at her.

Rey explained later that the confusion arose from the fact that, as much as Mandalore was foreign to her, Mandalorians, although accustomed to warrior women, weren't accustomed to great physical differences between the sexes ever since they were semi-voluntarily isolated from the rest of the galaxy. Their females were in every regard their equals, and Rey looked like an " _adiik_ ", a youngling of no more than 10, which they perceived as a good joke.

The Resistance officers transferred fuel to the Guavian ship – the amount enough to travel back to Sullust. They had to leave. There was nothing more to be done on the island.

She looked back again, with the distinct feeling they'll soon meet once more.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter VI.

Outrunning the shadow.

 _Synopsis: the small alliance is intercepted by the First Order. Rey and Kylo engage in a battle._

Rey and Satine have truly found their own common language. Rey made mistakes which Satine corrected, laughing, showing the set of her sharp, brilliant teeth; Rey was fascinated with everything from her helmet, her weapon to her language, interviewed Satine on the meaning of her tattoos, and urged Satine to talk about her home planet, which she gladly did.

Only a small shadow of sadness passed Satine's face – she was in a sort of political exile, an orphaned child of Nite Owl warriors, both her parents killed in First Order's raid. She was adopted by her _buir_ , the legendary leader of the Nite Owls, Bo Katan, only to be again orphaned by sectarian conflict in which her mother lost her life to First Order vassals, the Saxon _auturii_. Satine pronounced this word with disgust and a small curse.

Rey developed an immediate sympathy for Satine. She was an orphan, much like Satine, and was plunged into this war not of her choosing. They were of similar age, Rey could tell. And since she was so long confined to Jakku with this burning desire to travel and learn about different, strange cultures, she seized the first opportunity to talk to Satine. Rey also listened ardently to Satine talking about the memory of the famous Jedi master, Obi Van. Of course, her stories were partial, but nevertheless, Rey relished in them. It was her own master's tutor, a great and powerful figure from past.

Rey could tell that she, the _jetii_ , was almost as exotic to Satine as Satine was to her.

Satine was keen to see the _jetii_ blade in action and prompted Rey to use it. Rey complied and activated her saber. Satine and her squadron were awe-struck by the two-sided blade. Although Mandalore didn't comply completely with Jedi traditions, they followed set of ancient rules derived from the Jedi religion and respected the Force wielders, although they often resented the fact the Jedi were too modern or too decadent for Mandalorian taste. This mistrust especially resurfaced after the almost incessant array of wars that set Mandalore at least one century back in time.

Satine hoped that she would restore free and independent government to Mandalore, which was her adoptive mother's dying wish. She hated the First Order zealously and laughed at how her squadron ambushed Hux, slaughtering some 200 Stormtroopers in the process either by bombs or in hand-to-hand combat.

Rey didn't like Satine's blood-thirsty ways as she foresaw that this brutality can bring more harm than good, but she knew this was the Mandalorian way and kept mum, at least for now.

And as they were approaching Dagobah, Rey felt the old uneasiness, a silent alarm at the back of her head. She ascended to her feet and rushed forward to the control consoles.

She contacted Poe, who was navigating the First Order's stolen craft.

"Poe, there is a Procurator class II ship coming your way", she uttered, "They've been following us with drones since Ahch-to sector. I sense they failed to detect the planet, but they are on our trail now. Avoid them, lure them off. They didn't plan this but Ren is in haste. He wants this crew alive for interrogation and torture".

"Are you sure, Rey? Our scanners detect nothing", the troubled voice said.

Rey looked like a lioness ready to jump in the defense of her pride. Distance means nothing in the perspective of the Force. She sensed him, and she knew he sensed her too.

"Poe, I don't want any rescue missions", she replied, "Evade them as soon as you can and evacuate Dagobah. Tell them to scatter wherever they can. We'll meet again later".

"Roger that, Rey", Poe sighed. "Take care".

He, of course, had no intention of obeying. But he instructed Kay to dispatch an urgent signal for evacuation to Dagobah.

Meanwhile, Rey turned to Finn's troubled face.

"Finn", she said in a low voice, "When they pull us to their ship, leave Ren to me. Lead the troopers away from the door. Distract them. Try to get to their ship. There are only 200 people onboard that ship. He scraped up the squadrons he thought were loyal to him enough. And whatever happens, do not engage with Ren. If he comes your way, you run. Is that clear?"

Finn nodded, gathering all his resolve.

"Satine, here's your fight", she said to Satine, who was already standing at her side, "tell your freighters to keep distance. We'll need them later".

Satine's face tensed, and then she grinned at Rey.

"My men do not keep distance", she said in a low roar permeating from her translation device, "When we fight, we fight".

Rey anticipated this disobedient Mandalorian fervor.

"Very well", she said, "But you leave the _darjetii_ to me. He is mine. _Ibac'ner_. Do you understand?"

Satine nodded.

And as soon as they armored themselves with all that they brought onboard, the alarms roared.

"Damn it", Poe cursed, "How much time?"

" _Three minutes at best until full contact",_ Nunb responded.

"Let's roll, people", Poe yelled.

* * *

Their vessel shook violently as it was pulled to the "Conquistador" ship with tractor beam. Finn couldn't tell what was worse, the fact they weren't simply blown away from the sky or that they were intended for capture and torture again.

Rey gathered her allies in a small phalange in the entrance corridor, with a blaster gun hanging from her shoulder and her blade in her hands.

"They intended to follow us to Degobah with their drones", she said, "But then I sensed them. Ren is growing impatient. He makes mistakes. He knew we'd disappear before they'd discover the base".

They were only one hyper-jump away from Degobah. Finn thought about the base and injured Rose in it and shuddered.

"My friends", she said, licking her dry lips, "There are only 200 onboard that ship. Claim it and run away from Degobah. I'll keep Ren busy".

"We won't leave you, Rey", Finn whispered.

"You'll do exactly as I told you", Rey made a low roar as the light around them was extinguished, turning into the power saving mode's red hue, "Now hold your ground".

She activated her saber, its brilliance radiating a phantom blue shadow on her miniature alliance.

The door has opened with a metallic moan.

And in came a squadron of 20 Stormtroopers led by their own Supreme Leader. The Stormtroopers made a living wall of bodies in front of their Leader, who came in with his saber battle-ready.

Finn flinched, but quickly regained his position. Half a dozen Resistance fighters onboard removed the safety from their guns. Satine and the small group of her comrades she took with her were already holding the corridor in close range.

Rey looked swiftly at Ren through the phantom dimmed lights. His gaze was dead as he walked in. She sensed how terribly conflicted he was even before he entered that small space. And there was something else that persecuted him apart from his troubled thoughts - she sensed the air of danger and mutiny behind him.

"Ren", Rey exclaimed, her voice clear and deep, "This war is between you and me. Let my men go".

He didn't answer. His thoughts were in a violent disarray. And then, his eyes fixed on the blade. She could feel the tremendous insurgence of blind rage and hatred directed her way.

And in that very moment, Rey realized the Stormtroopers were shooting at them, under his order.

Rey felt the time stopped. She reached with her hand and felt the heat of the shots on the surface of her palm and the frequency of his hatred screaming in her ears like a tornado.

She stopped 20 shots midair, blocking at least as many coming again her way. Rey howled, feeling the strength was sipping from her like sand. It wasn't just the guns: it was him. He was pushing all that destructive force her way, with fanatical desire to destroy her. The air became thick and vibrant with violent energy, and she felt the sheer power of that attack made her slide backwards as if she was caught in the middle of a hurricane.

But then, suddenly, the deadly magic broke. Ren made a short painful sound as he recoiled back. The blasts flew backwards in a ricochet, hitting Stormtroopers, dispersing in the air like fireworks. The blasts she stopped within the guns made at least half of them to implode, wounding or killing almost whole squadron. Rey turned to Satine – her blaster gun was hot. She managed to wound Ren, hitting him on the shoulder. Satine was not human, and the advantage of her race allowed her to resist the deadly grip of the Force to the extent that she could aim and shoot the rage blinded _darjetii_.

Following her lead, the Mandalorians and the Resistance shoot unanimously, storming the corridor. Ren deflected the shots and before he had the chance to wound someone from the alliance, Rey clashed against him violently. His sword-hand was weaker, but she knew him. She could sense the injury was only a temporary distraction and his strength was quickly re-focusing in him.

The remaining troopers backed down, leaving their Leader exposed. But the new troops were mere feet behind them – surprise and shock were only allies of the Resistance on that ship.

Rey waited for all of her combatants to storm the Gate 1. Only when the very last of them disappeared from her sight, she pulled his blade down to the floor, meeting Kylo Ren's bloodied gaze for a moment. He grabbed the other side of her hilt with his hand and pushed her back. It felt so personal – too personal. Rage overcame her for that moment they stood there, entangled. And like a scavenger that she was, she kicked him violently in the abdomen. It sent him into a downward frenzy of pain and revenge.

" _Good",_ she thought to herself, as she ran down the corridor to the control room, _"This ends now"._

* * *

Hlersi'avaom'irmitth was standing on the main bridge as his sensors detected intrusion at Gate 1. He frowned even more. There were at least 100 men guarding Gate 1 where the Supreme Leader has gone to capture the Jedi he so fanatically pursued – there was no way to cramp more men in that narrow passage, and Iavaomir didn't need any prior knowledge to know that this is something the Resistance will readily exploit. But Iavaomir didn't try to contradict his new leader – he was deeply discontented with him for some time now. He resented his unsteady nature, his moodiness and his incontrollable rage. And he knew the new Supreme Leader de-throned the old one. No doubt about that. Although that was a course of action Iavaomir didn't approve or disapprove according to Chiss traditional and war-oriented world-view some considered to be immoral, it was the impulsive youth of the new Leader that he resented. Kylo Ren scraped up this powerful and quick ship in outmost hurry with the crew he deemed most loyal to him – and most brutal, in case of Iavaomir – but this hastiness and unruliness on his part annoyed Iavaomir to no end.

He also resented the fact that he was left out of combat, and in charge of the command bridge. He had no intention of becoming another version of Hux, whom he abhorred in another way, the way one abhors a lizard or a cockroach. The only virtue Iavaomit saw in the new Leader was the endless war he brought with him. And now, even that opportunity was quickly dissipating.

Frowningly, Iavaomir followed his Leader's signal as he was heading to the control room of the Guavian ship.

" _He is persecuting the Jedi girl",_ he thought to himself, _"The damn fool"._

"Captain", he ordered his human subordinate, "Send another 20 men to Guavian ship. Supreme Leader is alone in sector B".

"But, Sir", Captain replied with some anxiety, "The Supreme Leader has forbidden us any interference".

"Supreme Leader will know I stand behind this order", Iavaomir replied coldly, "And he'll maybe appreciate the help since 3 Mandalorian vessels are coming his way".

Captain rushed on his feet while the consoles around them sounded the alarm.

"Reckless fool", he murmured.

* * *

Rey fled into the Control Room. She wanted to lure him away from the ship. She glanced to the console – all the Mandalorian ships were intact and were trying to destroy the outer cannons of the Procurator class II ship, thinning out the defenses of TIE fighters that could otherwise attack Poe and his squadron.

For the moment, she was thankful that Satine disobeyed her.

" _Rey, Darkness chases after Light. Light pursues Darkness. But at some point, they must meet"._

She anticipated him – he didn't rush. Perhaps he was taking his time to heal and to absorb the energy with which he was hit. She clearly heard him coming her way.

So this is where they meet – it seemed awfully convenient. She told him she knew how to wait. That's one of the many skills she learned on Jakku.

He appeared at the door, with his saber again in his sword-hand, almost completely unaffected by the blow he received to the shoulder.

She felt a strange sort of relief overcoming her when she saw him. It will end soon, one way or another. She used the Force to bolt the door behind him, the metal moaning and crushing against metal.

He didn't seem perplexed at all. The room was familiar to him – he saw it already before she reached Ahch-to.

They circled slowly around each other for some time, observing each other like two beasts caught in the fight for the same territory. He swung his blade against her, slashing through the pilot's chair. She deflected the blow with her saber and pointed it at him again. He attacked again with a sort of a test blow – she came back at him with the same degree of force. He took his time.

He directed another hit which she avoided this time by spinning mid-air. She could feel the scorching heat of his blade mere inches from her face.

An alarm faintly bleeped behind her and with the peripheral vision she saw that one Mandalorian ship has been hit directly by two TIE fighters.

Her heart flinched as she tried to find out what happened to Finn and Poe. She could sense the imminent danger, but they were still alive – for now. Cold sweat came running down her back. She had to hurry. She attacked him this time, and managed to graze his sword-hand. She felt the blade cutting through his flesh.

But he barely flinched. He didn't even try to return the blow; as if he was almost amused by how quickly she exhausted herself. _She had the elegance of a hammer._

Her heart was racing.

"Enough", she said and attacked again, with their blades again clashing, crackling and howling. She flipped the other side of the blade against him – he deflected it in a semi-rotation, bruising her shoulder in the process. The sharp hot pain went down her arm. She staggered, but soon regained her steadiness.

He went few steps from her, brushing away the blood that sprinkled his face – this time, it was her blood.

Another bleep – another ship down, she felt. She felt 2 Resistance fighters falling in the main corridor leading to the control room as well.

"You sent them directly to their deaths", he responded to her fears coldly.

"These men are loyal", she replied, "They don't fear death".

"Do they, now?" he said, pointing his saber in her direction, as if he was calculating their distance and her strength, "Observe more closely".

"It is enough just for one of them to surrender, as it is already being proposed to them", he said, "Mandalorian scum probably won't budge, but I don't deal with menial things. How many are there: a dozen, 2 dozens? Doesn't matter – can't you feel one of those men faltering? He has something to lose – something close to his heart. His squadron is ambushed, outnumbered. Iavaomir offers them surrender as we speak".

"Satine is fierce and loyal", she growled back, "And every single one of those officers".

She couldn't tell – it was semi-dark, but she could feel something akin to grin forming on his face.

"Satine lost 4 of her mighty Mandalorians by now. The ship you stole has 3 TIE fighters on its tail, navigated by my best pilots", he replied, "And your humans… you don't know them. Any of them – think who's contemplating betraying you".

Her heart stopped and ached. Finn – the good, kind Finn, the improbable rebel, the man she trusted the most was thinking about Rose and the destruction of the Resistance base the moment the First Order finds out its exact location. They were ambushed, cramped in small space between the control room and Gate 1. He was desperate as he observed visibly frightened Resistance fighters around him. If he doesn't surrender, somebody else will.

"You fiend", she howled at him and attacked bitterly. But again, he felt strangely content.

"Good", he replied, "That was very good. That bastardized weapon you have is serving you well".

She spun quickly as he deflected yet another blow.

"It doesn't matter if we all die today", she howled, "I'll take you down with me".

* * *

Iavaomir was in his own way impressed by the daring guerilla tactic these Resistance fighters showed. And although they were outnumbered by at least 1:10, they still resisted after 1 hour the bitter attacks of his men. They were united under the same cause, and shared the same beating heart. And with Mandalorians on their side, Iavaomir felt Supreme Leader underestimated their zeal. He was blinded with his idiotic obsession to destroy the last remaining Jedi who was by all reports not even a fully fledged Jedi at all.

"Sir", his Captain has come to his side, "My men can't get to the Supreme Leader. He has barricaded himself in the Guavian ship control room and refuses to let the men in. If we try to destroy the door, we risk injuring or killing Lord Ren".

Iavaomir nodded, disgruntled.

"Very well, O'Connor", he answered, "I'll break to him and try to reason with him. The Supremacy class ship won't come in 30 minutes. I can't risk more damage to this ship and its crew. Supreme Leader needs to give us new orders".

And as he reached for his blaster gun, his communication officer exclaimed.

"Sir, we have an incoming message".

Iavaomir caught her utterly shocked stare.

"What is wrong, officer? Who is it?"

"It is late Supreme Leader's code-protected personal communication channel", she uttered.

"What?" Iavaomir hissed and rushed to the communication console, "Transfer the line now, officer".

The signal flickered and crackled for a brief minute. Iavaomir couldn't be intimidated. In fact, he was fierce and cold-blooded even by Chiss standards. He wasn't very prone to fatalism, either, and valued his common sense above everything else. He was almost certain that this was some kind of hoax – perhaps by the Resistance, or more likely, by the disgruntled fractions he knew existed within the First Order.

However, Supreme Leader's personal code was extremely difficult if not impossible to come by. Only Kylo Ren knew of it, and even he changed the frequency and his personal code for his own use.

So Iavaomir felt a pang of uneasiness and a dash of anxiety that made him even more disgruntled.

"This is General Hlersi'avaom'irmitth of the First Order Procurator class II ship "The Conquistador", "he addressed the static from the other side, not wanting to wait for some traitor or buffoon to address him first, "Whoever you are, we will find you, and destroy you. Using First Order's classified channels is punishable by the court Marshall Law, section 5, subsection 4".

"General Iavaomir", a familiar voice echoed, "Always feisty: you would make your compatriot admiral Thrawn proud".

Iavaomir was perhaps twice caught off guard in his life. First time, there were no survivors to testify of it. This time, he was surrounded by his officers who were virtually petrified.

"Supreme Leader", Iavaomir uttered, "How is this possible?"

The creature laughed from a considerable distance, his voice distorted and broken.

"Not now, General", he said, "I shall join you in this glorious war we started very soon. But now, General, I have a task for you".

"Whatever you order, Supreme Leader", Iavaomir exclaimed.

"Aim the Guavian Ship. Destroy the usurper and the Jedi traitor", Snoke's voice became a low growl, "Do it, General, and I will exalt you more than any Chiss could ever dream of".

Iavaomir pondered for only a brief second. It wasn't the way of his people to kill a man who can't defend himself. On the other hand, it wasn't his way to contradict his true leader.

He ordered O'Connor to initiate the priming sequence.

"But, Sir", the man answered, "It might damage our ventral engines. The Guavian Ship is too near".

"There is no time to plant bombs on that ship", Iavaomir said. "Aim the control room directly and unlock the ship as soon you have a confirmative hit".

"Kill the remaining Resistance", he ordered, removing the safety pin from his blaster gun, "It is high time for this foolishness to end".

The count-down started.

* * *

Poe clicked on the surface of his control panel.

"Kay", he yelled, "Why are they charging their auxiliary cannon? What are they aiming at?"

Kay's eyes widened in terror as she exclaimed:

"It's the Guavian ship!"

"What?!" Poe screamed at the top of his lungs. He managed to crash one TIE fighter and to lose 2 – he took one of their laterals and half of their dorsal cannons off. He was good at that – that daring maneuver came naturally to him, like breathing. But the auxiliary guns he didn't cover since they were too close to the surface of the ship. If he had his X wing, it won't be a difficult task. But he was flying mid-size craft that didn't have the versatility of an X-wing.

"The remaining time until impact?" he yelled.

"15 seconds at this rate", Kay answered.

Poe turned and rotated the craft multiple times, crashing directly against one of the TIE fighters that still pursued them. The craft shook violently and grazed the surface of the "Conquistador", but his pilot pulled the craft back up.

He had one single thought – he went for the auxiliary cannon. He will either crash land the whole vessel or shoot the cannons down, or both.

* * *

Rey could distinctly feel there was something disturbing in the air. It was a new sort of danger, not coming from the troopers, or Ren, or the First Order. It froze her in her spot. She sensed Kylo Ren caught this scent of danger too, and tensed like a wounded animal.

But they were too obsessed with finishing the task ahead: they were too dead-bent of not letting the other one leave that ship alive.

Rey pushed away the warning sign – _I have no time, I have no time,_ she kept repeating that to herself feverishly.

A killer instinct went through her like an electrical current. She saw the window of opportunity opening as he was distracted by the strange cold aura that they detected. She charged at him, this time aiming for his neck, him barely avoiding the fierce blow that could burst open his carotids. But as she pushed him back, feeling that he was this time truly caught in the moment of weakness, the hilt in her hands clicked, shuddered – and the blade went inactive. She practically stumbled over him, with his saber grazing her other arm. Rey yelled in pain and ended on her knee.

The blood gushed over her arm and stained the hilt. She tried to re-activate it frantically, but the hilt was dead.

He turned to her with that undecipherable expression on his face, his position now defensive – but as he saw her predicament, he flexed and stood straight up, towering over her. He examined her for a split second, his expression transforming from feral rage and hatred into dissatisfaction and - sadness.

She still fought to re-activate the hilt as the Guavian ship received a powerful hit. The air around them howled as it was sucked into the vacuum of the space. The last remaining image she had before falling into blackness was Kylo Ren, torn from the ship into the debris out of the damaged vessel. She managed to grab hold of the broken chair and thus prevent herself from being torn into the open space with him.

 _At least_ , she thought, _in the end I am no murderer._


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter VII.

"Conquistador" is fallen.

 _Synopsis: Rey talks to Luke Skywalker and makes a terrible revelation. Chewbacca saves Rey from the damaged ship. An unexpected help saves the alliance from the "Conquistador"._

She was on Ahch-to.

She could clearly remember what has happened – she knew that the dying brain expands the notion of time and actively hallucinates for no more than 10 microseconds that feel like eons.

She was sitting on the top of the island, her legs crossed. The saber was in front of her, neatly placed on a grey rock polished by sun, wind and rain.

The ocean breeze was soft and mild. It was a brilliant sunny day. She felt alone on the whole island, with no sight of her Master. But for the first time in a long time, she didn't care if he was present or not. She felt perfectly content and complete by being herself and alone on that strange island.

She examined her arms: there were no wounds. Her skin was healthy and unbroken. In fact, everything seemed so complete and untainted in that moment.

She had no fear. She thought this might be that gateway to the other side of life, so rarely mentioned even in the Jedi texts. There was little chance she could have survived that blow – it was a powerful hit to the main control room that almost tore whole vessel in two pieces.

Ren was closer to the impact zone, making his own survival even more improbable. And who could pick them up on time in the open space? He was abandoned and betrayed by his own people. Her men were trapped onboard the "Conquistador". The last time she saw Snoke's craft, operated by Poe, they had at least 3 TIE fighters on their tail. She trusted him and his skills – she believed he'd lose them and fly away on time to warn the remaining Resistance and start the evacuation, only if he wasn't that kind of a fool that would fly back and try to rescue her from the ship's debris.

She felt tranquil and relieved. Only one shadow permeated into this place – the fact she tried to use the split second of his distraction to cut him down. No wonder the saber failed her – it is good that it failed her. Rey felt deep disgust to mere assassination, and this would be one.

She relished in the mild weather and closed her eyes as she heard her Master's voice from her left:

"Why are you here again, Rey?"

He looked like an old librarian interrupted in the middle of reading an ancient scroll he himself uncovered.

"Don't you know?" she asked him. "I am dying".

And she said it without a trace of fear or regret in her voice.

"No, you're not", Luke answered as if he was correcting a silly answer by his student, "You're being picked up by Chewie as we speak".

"Chewie?" she asked. They indeed signaled their coordinates to the "Falcon", but haven't heard from them until the Guavian ship was hit.

"You're a powerful Light", he said, taking a seat near her, "You're the kind of Light that doesn't go away that easily. That's why the Darkness pursues you so stubbornly".

"Kylo's men betrayed him", she said, "They must've realized he was the traitor who murdered Snoke. Even if he did survive, there is no one to come to his aid".

"Do you think the First Order cares who leads them, as long as their leader is powerful and provides them victory?" he asked, "Look more closely, Rey. There is greater darkness on your trail, and you know who it is. You felt it there on that ship".

"Snoke?" she whispered, her eyes widened with shock.

Luke nodded.

"He is the powerful Darkness, not Ben. Ben Solo was that mixed light and darkness since before he was even born. Leia told me about her intuition regarding her child. He is still alive, but his life is slowly leaving him. If he dies, Rey, he'll be absorbed by the Dark Side. Darkness is a parasite – it needs his strength to grow. Help him, Rey. Bring him back".

She felt the very earth under her trembled and the brilliant colors of the island, the sky and the ocean withered.

Her friends were alive, she could feel it. But they were caught deep in what was an imminent death trap. Kylo was badly injured, but remarkably, he wasn't thrown far away from her. She tried to breathe in and ask her Master one more question, but in the next moment, she felt herself being pulled back into consciousness.

Her whole body ached, the frost bites burning like her own flesh was being torn apart, her battle wounds open and hurt.

She had the oxygen mask on, but the air felt like an explosion of million crystals that penetrated her lungs. "Falcon" wasn't equipped with sophisticated medical equipment. This is the best Chewie could do. The creature released sad and desperate howls as he tried to bring Rey back to her senses.

Every single movement felt like it demanded a superhuman strength from her. Every single one of them seemed to last for an eternity. She tore the mask off of her and said in hoarse voice to wookie:

"Steer the "Falcon" 10 degrees to the east, and pull Ben in".

Wookie made a short, disgruntled sound.

"Do as I told you, Chewie", she said again, in a failed attempt to get back to her feet.

But Chewie remained conflicted and – motionless.

It was R2 who gained the control over the "Falcon", with BB-8 helping him.

Rey glanced at Chewie with discontent, but what reason she had to be frustrated? She didn't understand any of this herself. She was helping the murderer to survive. She was helping the Jedi Killer to stay alive.

Chewie growled, but helped Rey get up to her feet.

"Falcon" made a short turn and a quick maneuver. She sensed him being alive only barely. They had to retrieve him by tractor beam from the "Falcon", as Rey was almost completely drained and felt the effort would harm her, if not even kill her.

It all went for eons, Rey thought, when in reality no more than 5 minutes have passed.

As the door in cargo bay slammed shut, she came closer to him, staggering. She could clearly see how terribly bruised and battered he was as she put the oxygen mask on him. He felt cold and dead, but his pulse, although very weak, was there and she could feel he was struggling. Chewbacca had to pull him to the sick bay, which he did without an ounce of gentleness. Beast's unreadable face became feral and his gaze hardened.

"We can't lose him", Rey whispered, feeling the strain needed to speak was too much for her – nevertheless, she felt complied to explain it to Chewbacca the best she could, "If he dies, the Dark Side becomes stronger. Snoke is alive. I can't feed him with Ben's Force".

She tried to wrap Kylo Ren in thermal blanket the best she could.

Chewbacca howled in a low tone, mixing grief and anger.

"There is still some Ben Solo left in him. And yes, I was there and I remember what he did", Rey replied, "I don't forgive him. But his father did".

Chewbacca made a long, heart-breaking howl.

She felt frail and weary. Her blood dried on her as she went through all these motions almost robotically. Her heart has sunken low and she didn't even dare to ask Chewbacca where the remnants of their small alliance are. The wookie creature responded by gesturing to the dashboard of the "Falcon". He was always much more intuitive than an average human.

Rey saw a bitter fight in space – her stolen craft now caught between 4 TIE fighters.

"We must help them", she screamed and then coughed, "Chewie, we have to go there".

The beast roared and howled with some annoyance. He couldn't be on two places at the same time. It is little short of a miracle that he picked her signal on time at all – and she made him do the thing he found most repugnant and hurtful – he had to save his friend's murderer.

Chewbacca growled shortly.

"I am sorry, Chewbacca", she said, feeling the pang of commando guilt. She threw herself into the artillery cabin and switched on the locators.

* * *

Iavaomir escaped the doomed "Conquistador" with no more than half a dozen men. He was injured, bleeding profusely from his blue-pigmented head. He saw the Guavian ship hit awkwardly with their projectile before the "Conquistador" shook and moaned under the direct hit to auxiliary cannon that shut down half of their ventral engines at the same time. Frantically, he ordered the remaining guns to fire at Guavian ship, seeing the raptor crooking and falling freely in the space. It was still heavily damaged – but he didn't intend to be a failure for his true Leader.

He wanted the vessel evaporated.

And as he struggled to retain the order on the deeply shaken command bridge, the single Mandalorian warrior broke his way to the bridge, at least a half a dozen following his lead. A primitive bomb took lives of 3 his officers and plunged him over the ledge to the communication pods.

That was twice in one day he was caught off guard and he wholeheartedly resented the fact.

He tried to regain the control of the command bridge, but another direct blow slanted the floor of the ship. The lights flickered; alarms were roaring. With his peripheral vision, Iavaomir has seen that the stolen First Order craft came dangerously close, hitting their main engines with admirable precision.

He struggled to his feet and rushed to the control panel where he activated the self-destruction mode, taking two Resistance fighters down on his way to the panel.

He had no intent to let this ship fall into the hands of these wild partisans.

From there, he ordered a haste retreat and made his way through the launch bay to the remaining TIE fighters, salvaging as many of his crew as he could, and leaving many more of them wailing on the ground or caught mid-fire with the Resistance alliance.

He intended to continue the battle in space, leaving the Mandalorians and very few Resistance fighters caught in a futile clash with the remaining troopers.

He wanted that ship and her daring crew out from the sky. He would stall the time; preventing the craft to hyper-jump or rescue their remaining crew stuck onboard the "Conquistador". In the meantime, the Starkiller Ship "Invictus" would appear to pull the wreck of the Guavian ship and show its remains to the Supreme Leader. He needed only 15 minutes to stay battle ready.

The TIE fighters roared quickly from the launch bay. Iavaomir used their lightness and speed to attack the craft from behind.

Poe couldn't escape them on time since the craft was not quick enough for small squadron of TIE fighters at his tail. However, his gunmen hit one TIE fighter sending him on a downward spiral.

Poe let the vessel fall freely and abruptly similarly to a pigeon persecuted by a hawk, sending the TIE fighters in wild hunt behind them.

"Poe", his officer yelled, "Our main engine's been hit. We'll explode if we continue to engage".

"Sir", Kay cried out from the other side of the control room, "The self-destruction mode has been activated on "Conquistador"."

"I'm leaving no one behind", he yelled, "Revert all the power to auxiliary engines. It's enough to take down these flies. How much time is left, Nunb?"

" _Two minutes and 24 seconds",_ Nunb yelled.

"Good", he uttered, "I'll get as close as I can. They won't stick on us so easily if I'm attached to their launch bay".

"Sir", Kay exclaimed, "I have connection to the "Conquistador"!"

Amidst the roaring alarms, Finn could hear Poe's voice yelling from the loudspeaker:

"Attention, Rebels! The self-destruct mode has been activated on "Conquistador"! Try to deactivate it! And take as many TIE fighters you can with their guns!"

"Damn it, is that all?" Finn thought to himself, feeling that he is surely coming to his wit's end.

He tried to move from his make-shift barricade, but was met with the barrage of the remaining Stormtroopers. He tried to return fire only to realize his old blaster gun jammed.

Finn felt stranded, desperate and useless. The Mandalorians were somewhat cornered on the command bridge, with Satine trying to bypass the blocked weaponry.

"Soldiers! I am FN-2187, I was one of you. Your leaders don't care about you. Your leadership has left you, sacrificed you! I don't wish your death!" Finn tried to plead with the remaining troopers, but was met with curses, accusations of treason and another barrage.

True Stormtroopers – programmed, conditioned and loyal until death to a misguided cause.

"FN-2187", a faint voice behind him said, "The self-destruct mode… I know how to over-write it".

"Who are you? How can I know you won't just blow us up even faster?" Finn screamed.

"You can't", the faint voice replied, "I am… I was a communication officer on this ship. Take this".

A small object came Finn's way and he reached with his hand. It was a miniature decoder with pre-set values.

"Insert it into the main control panel on the launch deck", the faint voice said. "But hurry".

Finn made the run of his life, tumbling and avoiding the direct hits of the troopers. Mandalorians saw his desperate attempt and jumped immediately to his aid, helped by the remaining Resistance Fighters, but were blocked by the desperate counter-attack of the Stormtroopers.

Finn felt the fabric of Poe's jacket soaked with sweat: he felt the dread like a physical presence pressing hard against his temples. There was no argument to believe the injured officer. These people were fanatics, born and bred to serve the First Order. But there was something in this young man's plea: perhaps his youth or perhaps his desperate position, since he was left right in the middle between two conflicted sides. Finn had nothing else to rely upon except his intuition.

"0k, let's do this", he murmured and inserted the decoder into the control panel. The electromagnetic bound clicked smoothly and immediately – just a quantum of normalcy caught in the trembling, mutilated ship.

The ship trembled again under another powerful strike by TIE fighters dead-bent to destroy the ship and all the rebels on it. The control panel flickered and timer went off. It was 22 seconds to the final countdown and Finn felt the peak of his dread coming at him. He couldn't tell, but he felt the timer was somehow accelerated.

" _That fanatic has fooled us all",_ a feverish thought came running through Finn's mind, _"and I helped him"._

He thought about Rose and about Rey. They lost all contact with Rey too long ago and he saw the ship being hit some time after that. The total annihilation was avoided only because of Poe's desperate maneuver that disabled the cannon – however, not quick enough to avert the projectile altogether.

And as he found himself praying to unknown gods or forces to be merciful, the timer stopped. It was stuck at 0:03 seconds.

Finn sighed deeply. The ship tilted even more, dislodging blaster gun from one of the dead Stormtroopers and sending the gun directly to his feet.

And as he grabbed the weapon, prepared to join his comrades again, a familiar group of people stormed the command bridge, stopping the Stormtroopers' fire with their surprise attack.

It was Poe and the Resistance. They managed to lock the ship onto "Conquistador".

Iavaomir lost another TIE figher, hit by that rebel piece of junk. It was insulting on all possible levels. To add insult to injury, the timer was either broken or even worse, that scum managed to deactivate the time bomb.

He had no time to ponder on his many failures, being hit himself by one of the auxiliary guns from his own vessel.

As he plunged spirally downwards, the only thought that was left in him was that of rage and revenge.

He had only 3 minutes left until "Invictus" would come into range.

If he only lasted that long - he calculated with life and death, as he always did.

"Finn", Poe yelled, "The ship is falling apart. Come, quickly!"

But Finn felt obliged to bring the young communication officer with them. He jumped to his side, only to find him barely conscious.

"You saved us", he whispered to the injured officer. His name tag read "O'Hara".

"O'Hara, you're coming with us", Finn said, "We leave no one behind".

"And what about all the other soldiers", O'Hara whispered, with a bitter smile, "Oh, no. I'm done for either way. Go, leave me. You have to go. "Invictus" will be out of hyper space in 2 minutes. Go and hyper jump immediately – but first… take this to my family. Find Frank O'Hara on Lothal. They're farmers. They think I'm dead. Now they may know what happened. Tell them what happened".

Finn felt his eyes welled as he accepted the dying soldier's name-tag and a small locket carved in peculiar wood, with what appeared to be initials of at least 4 different persons.

"Tell them I never forgot them", O'Hara said, "Tell them Dev has never forgotten them".

"I'll tell them you died a hero", Finn promised, "A Resistance hero".

Dev smiled faintly.

"That sounds nice", he said simply and lost his conscience.

Poe screamed from across the hall.

"Finn! We have no time!"

Finn ran to his friends in a semi-delirious state. Later, he couldn't even remember how he ever got to the stolen craft or how they escaped, followed by "Millennium Falcon". But as they were microseconds away from synchronous hyper-jump, he had the glimpse of "Conquistador" destroyed by a powerful blast activated from the inside.

It was a force strong enough to crush directly against the incoming "Invictus", buying the small alliance additional time to escape.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter VIII.

Caught between the rock and a hard place.

 _Synopsis: the alliance flees to Sullust. Rey has a lot of explaining to do. Poe finds his loyalty conflicted. Finn flies to Lothal to find O'Hara's family._

They fled to Sullust like possessed.

Rey felt exhausted and thrilled at the same time. Every single nerve in her was re-energized after the battle. But her joy was darkened by the fact that her combatants' lives were lost and that she now had that injured, unconscious and potentially deadly enemy on her deck. She had a very difficult task of explaining all of this to the rest of the crew ahead of her – and she herself wasn't an exception. He was weak and it was little short of a physical anomaly that he wasn't torn apart or killed by radiation and absolute zero temperature. But he was a powerful Force wielder, just like she was. Force protected him.

As she came out from the "Millennium Falcon" into the domed launch bay on Sullust, she saw Poe running to meet her with Mandalorians aiding their wounded to come down the ramp of his ship.

He was beyond himself of joy. He saw the Guavian ship being hit and saw the blaze that threatened to rip the ship into pieces. For too long, he thought her dead and that hit him harder than any other loss he suffered before. She was injured and limping, but she smiled and waved at him with that infallible smile of hers.

He was a simple, impetuous man. He forgot his rank, her rank and her Jedi title as he grabbed her around her waist and kissed her boldly.

Rey was caught off guard. Perhaps it was her tiredness, her joy of re-union or her need for simple human touch and comfort, but she didn't push him straight away. He felt unthreatening, real and warm, and she welcomed that basic human experience. She felt he acted more on an impulse and the sheer joy of being alive than on some complicated passion. After all, how much experience can a freed slave from Jakku have?

As he picked her up and held her in his arms for a second, his eye caught the stretcher behind her back. Chewbacca let the droids navigate the floating device as he came down with what seemed an extremely troubled expression. Poe couldn't recognize the injured man's face, but that uniform was stuck with him for the rest of his life. He shuddered and instinctively placed Rey behind him.

"I have to tell you something", Rey said, gesturing at him to put down the weapon, "You need to know what happened".

There was a small renegade base on Sullust, with medical staff and some artillery. But they couldn't stay on Sullust for too long – although the planet was impoverished and largely forgotten by the First Order, it still was a long-time occupation zone of Empire. Besides, Rey feared that Snoke could detect Kylo Ren's presence, making their situation even more vulnerable.

This was an information she, however, couldn't tell Poe. He was caught in a whirlwind as it is.

* * *

Poe summoned an emergency Council meeting – every single one of them was always an emergency, but this was just ridiculous, he thought. In rush, Rey told him the story of visions, Ahch-to, Luke and Kylo Ren's role, but Poe was weary of all the Jedi stuff.

Jedi met their deaths readily and calmly, as if they almost welcomed it. Poe valued life. And this gambling with life and death rubbed him in all the wrong ways. But contrary to his own nature, he said nothing to Rey. She was, after all, fully aware that this is something extremely hard to be explained and even harder to be accepted.

"The fact that this man is alive", Major Harter Kalonia reported to the Council in a cautious voice that barely concealed her anxiety and disbelief, "Is contrary to all laws of physics and biology. He sustained multiple injuries. He was without oxygen for at least 10 minutes. He has 2nd and 3rd degree frost-bites that should, conventionally, lead to tissue necrosis but in his case, I see the remission of the symptoms. He has multiple bone fractures but each of them is regenerating at an unusual speed".

"And your prognosis would be, doctor?" Sato asked impatiently.

"My prognosis, under normal circumstances, would be to identify this man according to his trace DNA", the medical expert sighed, "But now… I really don't know. He's struggling. The pulse is weak, but stable. His blood results are surprisingly good for someone with that sort of damage. But he is in coma. Whether he'll ever come back, I don't know".

Silence fell on Council like a thick shroud. The distant buzz of the light felt like a roaring thunder in that sort of silence.

"I say we kill him", exclaimed Satine, vocalizing the idea many harbored in that moment, "He is the enemy, the _darjetii_ ".

"It's not the noblest decision, but there is no dignity in slaughterhouse. And the slaughterhouse is what will come for us when the First Order finds out we have their traitor with us. Let's do it quickly. Let's do it mercifully", Commander Sato said.

Disgruntled murmurs filled the room. Rey suspected this would happen, but remained unfaltering.

"One thing I know", she said, "If we strike him down, it will be vendetta. It will be rage. Vengeance, rage, fear and hatred are the fuel of the Dark Side. He is an enemy, and he is a _darjetii_. But if we surrender him to his death, his true master will become more powerful".

Shouts and curses filled the room.

"What? You mean to tell us Snoke is alive?" Sato exclaimed. "But you saw him killed! The First Order made a funeral pyre! Our intelligence confirmed that the creature was destroyed!"

"What sort of manipulation was that?" Browne exclaimed.

Rey felt she went too far with revealing the whole truth to the Council. She was so zealous to do this the right way that she completely forgot there might be _another_ right way.

Poe's brow darkened. He didn't expect he'll see the day when he'll become a politician, but that's what his new role demanded. He sighed and hit the metal panel in front of him until he gained relative attention from the Council.

"This information is strange, I can admit to that", he said firmly. "But that doesn't change our perspective at all, now, doesn't it? Snoke was a shadowy figure behind the First Order all my life and even before I was born. Snoke, Ren, Sith, the Emperor… it doesn't matter what label they have, they're the same enemy. We are accustomed to see them coming in pairs – first Darth Vader and the Emperor, now Snoke and Kylo Ren. However, this time we have the other half in our custody. Be as it may, it might give us some leverage".

Murmurs rose again, this time with somewhat more approval.

"Sir", Kay said. "There is a new public broadcast by the First Order".

Poe nodded and the hologram appeared. It informed all governments and nations across the chartered regions to reinforce curfews and arrest the Jedi girl and the traitor of the First Order, Ren. Detailed biometrics ensued. Even Rey found it hard to watch. Poe gestured at Kay to switch off the propaganda.

The calm lasted only seconds.

"There it is", Sato exclaimed. "There can be no negotiations with the First Order. He is a danger to this base and to the very survival of all our sympathizers".

Council was again in an uproar.

Rey felt that, whatever influence she had before, now it was quickly sipping through her hands like sand. She gathered all her strength and stood up, but a small painful twitch escaped her face. The wounds were healing, but not quick enough and she felt the broken muscles and nerves tugged against her bones like sand-stone.

Poe glanced at her worriedly. Everyone saw her weakness. Rey blushed, but tensed and said in firm tone:

"We are both sought after across the galaxy. I am a liability to the Resistance the same way he is. I need to go back to Ahch-to. The planet is…"

But an explosive discontent came her way as she struggled to finish.

"…the planet is protected by the strong Force and it will shield me and him from the First Order".

Rey was acutely aware she lost the Council's attention.

"That's out of the question", Sato exclaimed, "Even if you somehow manage to get through the sector, we don't have enough ships as it is. We need every single vessel for the potential evacuation".

Everybody around Rey shook their heads. Arguments, disputes and accusations flew left and right. Poe tried to stop them, but was outnumbered and out yelled. He gestured at Rey, trying to retain good spirits.

"Come", he said, "I've seen them in this state. Let the kids vent, we'll talk again to them tomorrow".

But even he didn't believe himself and Rey knew that too well.

* * *

Finn rushed to Rose's side.

No changes – the medical droid informed him.

Finn caressed her cheek – it was warm. And as if this somehow brought him some courage back, he whispered:

"I'll come back soon. There is hope for this galaxy, Rose. I know it. I see it all the time now. And when you wake up, you'll see it too".

"Are you out of your mind? What is with all of you? Are all of you out of your minds?" Poe practically yelled, now seriously annoyed.

"I need to get to this man's family", Finn said, "He's the unsung hero of the Resistance. His family needs to know he died saving us. I owe him, Poe. You owe him, too. The whole Resistance does".

"Do you have any idea how many unsung heroes the Resistance has?" Poe almost hissed back, "And I can't let you be one of them, not yet. I need you here, soldier. And as far as I remember, I'm still the general, so stick it".

Poe was just tired of all these potential losses. For the first time in his life, he resented the risks that time and time again led to nowhere. He had to blast something up, and fast. The art of explosions is simple, deadly and gives visible results. It is completely opposite to these romantic crusades everyone is venturing on all of a sudden.

"Do you know where Lothal is? What Lothal is?" he said, grumpily.

"I know. I know everything I need to know. I'll just fly there, find his family, tell them what happened and then I'll come back".

"And what if these people are dead? What if they tip you off to the First Order?" he asked, "It's just insane. I don't allow it".

"So, since we have so many heroes, one more or less makes no difference? One life makes no difference?" Finn said, "You sound very much like First Order now, general".

Poe waved his index finger at his friend.

"Finn", he practically cursed, "You spent too much time with Rey".

"So, I'd reckon it's a yes?" Finn asked, tauntingly.

Poe was exasperated.

"At least ask Kay to search these people in our archives".

He nodded at his friend. But he had another thing to do – he had to talk to Rey.

He found her in the catacombs that served as detention center for the Resistance. Her plan was to lock Kylo Ren up in one of the cells and prohibit anyone from coming near him. She couldn't predict in what state he'll wake up – if he'd wake up at all. She could feel his presence in the Force, but it was clouded. He drifted away. She hoped he was similarly undetectable to Snoke.

"Finn", she smiled, her smile giving him the additional dash of optimism.

"Rey", he uttered as they hugged, and then added: "I'm sorry".

She shook her head. Who was she to judge him? She managed to turn all these people against her. They lost one ship they managed to steal and 8 people onboard the "Conquistador", failing to secure that much needed powerful vessel. She failed to defeat their enemy and now he was under her watch and a potentially enormous risk to them all.

"You have nothing to feel sorry for", she said, "You wanted to protect those you love at any cost. Maybe that's no quality for a Jedi, but I'm no Jedi either".

She placed her bandaged hand on his shoulder.

"You have to leave", she said, reading his sad and grateful eyes.

"Yes, but only for a short while", he replied.

"Jedi masters lived on Lothal during the Rebelion", Rey said, "Their heritage is still there. Light doesn't go that easily away, Finn. I think you'll see that. I think it's no coincidence that you have to go there".

* * *

Hux felt weak and dizzy as he drifted in his escape pod at the edge of Mandalore system. The life support systems were functioning on their very minimum. He wasn't killed by those savages, but he was definitely left to die. Damn Ren. He planned this from the beginning. He put him deliberately here, between the rock and the hard place. Saxon clan by itself was full of self-serving snakes, but they are at least easier to lure into alliance by bribery and high positions.

He was afloat for almost 4 days now. He was out of water, out of supplies and soon he'll be out oxygen. And as he struggled to stay alive, feeding from his sheer hatred for the new Leader, his communication channel activated. An eerie, disembodied but familiar voice addressed him.

"General Hux".

 _I am hallucinating_ , he thought to himself, _Armitage, you're hallucinating. Snap out of it._

But there was something alluring and empowering in that voice, like the first time he felt the pull to the Dark Side.

"Supreme Leader?" Hux replied faintly, still mistrustful of his own sanity.

"Why didn't you overthrow the traitor?" Snoke asked with a hint of a dark joke, "You didn't seriously believe him the fairy tale he told you?"

"No, Supreme Leader!" Hux found new strength in himself and screamed, "Not for a moment. I waited for his weak moment, and then I'd strike".

Snoke laughed hectically from the other side – the other side could well be the other side of life as well the other side of the galaxy.

"Good", he said, "A true follower of the Dark Side. Ren is tainted. The Light clings to him persistently. There is a new presence in the Force that threatens to destroy everything we have built".

"The girl?" Hux asked.

"No", Snoke almost growled, "The girl is conflicted herself. Too much power in one human leads to unpredictable outcomes, especially with the females".

Snoke again snickered to his own joke.

"Then who? Tell me and I'll destroy your enemy, Supreme Leader", Hux shouted.

"No", Snoke replied, as if amused, "You cannot do anything against ghosts. Only I can resist the powerful Jedi spirits. You bring me the traitor to Korriban, Supreme General Hux, and you shall be rewarded beyond your wildest dreams".

"Of course, Supreme Leader", Hux cried out. But he stopped as the life support system fell to 2%.

"You need to have more faith in the Dark Side, Supreme General", Snoke said mockingly, "Your allies from the Saxon clan will rescue you. And then, make haste. Bring me the traitor alive".

* * *

Rey felt desperately tired. The Council's discontent seemed to drain her even more. Poe tried to stay optimistic, but even he couldn't conceal his mistrust. She detected a pang of jealousy in him and it left her confounded and - embarrassed. Rey tried to verbalize the fact that it is just about the Balance and about how the Force works … but what was it exactly? These people were risking their lives and lives of their supporters and families to fight the First Order, and there she was – protecting their worst and ultimate enemy, having nothing more than vague Jedi references as an explanation.

She desperately hoped to find both rest and answers in her slumber. And as she activated the sensors attached to Ren's life support, Rey dozed off.

It was a sort of black, deep sleep all exhausted humans have.

She awoke refreshed, but with no visions, no insights, no nothing. And as she was slowly waking up, a shock revelation came over her – he wasn't there, his cell violently burst open from the inside.

Deadly terror overcame Rey.


	6. Chapter 6

This is a long chapter – however, I didn't want to break it into two, because the whole storyline deals with bitter truths and how to swallow them (almost literally). Later in the chapter, Rey tastes bitter Mandalorian wine and bitter Sullustan tea (the latter is my invention; don't shoot me for playing around with SW lore). Both drinks symbolize the fact that she has to learn how to develop that "refined Jedi vision" and become subtler. Finn must face with the bitter truth that there are no winners in a war; and in the end, Rey must face with the bitter truth that her enemy is not so different from her after all. I introduced Hera and Kanan from the SW: The Rebels. Both characters were so intriguing to me that I had to make a place for them in this story. Besides, all our heroes are very young and very lonely and this applies to all of them in different ways: to Rey, Finn, Poe, Ben Solo especially – and Hera and Kanan serve here as some kind of mentors or parental figures, the same way they were mom and dad to Ezra Bridger.

There is also a bit of text dedicated to all of us, weak and deviant fools, who contemplate what would it feel and look like if Rey would to succumb and turn to the Dark Side. ;)

Also, I am an idiot who only figured out now how to add chapters properly. But I hope my Galactic Standard is becoming increasingly better.

MTFBY!

Chapter IX.

The bitter truth.

 _Synopsis: Finn makes a strange discovery on Lothal. Rey fights Snoke's attacks off and make an even stranger discovery with the help of Luke Skywalker. The light-saber reactivates._

Finn came to Lothal onboard a communal shuttle, over-crowded with merchants and farmers. Peculiar animals, resembling chickens, clucked in a small crate near his feet. Droids, crowded in the back of the ship, clicked, beeped and talked in myriad of different languages and dialects. He had the false identifications of a small time fruit merchant on his way to buy goods from Lothal. The fact he went unnoticed shocked him at first, but then he found himself observing all these bustling life-forms with a child-like curiosity. If only Rey was with him – she'd be even more enthusiastic about this than he is. What kept Finn going was some unclear vision of how their future might look like. He remembered, although very vaguely, the farm he was raised at. He could imagine himself buying a small farm like that one day, retiring with Rose. She'd probably find that lifestyle boring, but with her mechanical skills, she'd be in great demand in any neighboring town. They'd have two cute kids, a boy and a girl, with her button nose and shiny black hair. And both would be curly, like he is.

And as for Rey, he saw that kiss. He thought that pairing – a powerful warrior and a daredevil pilot – was probably the coolest stuff ever to occur in galaxy, even after the famed Han Solo and Princess Leia romance. Only this time, that romance would end happily.

At least that's the way Finn's imagination went.

An elderly Twi'lek female pushed him from behind and cursed: "Watch where you're going, _merchant_ ".

She was surprisingly strong and pretty tall. He didn't wish any unnecessary commotion surrounding him.

"I'm sorry, ma'am", he said and tried to avoid her.

"Forgive this old woman", she said in a mock-senile way and then lowered her voice, "There are troopers checking your false IDs, soldier. Lothal is a dump, but your IDs are even worse. What is with your Resistance nowadays?"

"What? Who are you?" Finn whispered.

"It doesn't matter now", she said with a shadow crossing her face, "The only important thing is to get you out of this mess. Follow me and you have a chance".

Finn was by that point accustomed to trust strangers he only just met. He was getting better in this, supposedly.

The warm, polluted air of an overcrowded miniature landing pod almost suffocated him.

"Welcome to Lothal, young man", the Twi'lek woman said loudly, "How nice of you to help this old woman in need".

"Go to the right and make no sound", she hissed at him, accelerating her fragile step to the rate Finn had trouble following.

* * *

Rey took her saber and activated it – this time, the blue hue felt unsettlingly different. Perhaps it was the aftermath of the explosion she survived? Perhaps her rage and her recklessness tainted the kyber core? But she had no time to ponder. She never had enough time.

Rey had a strong feeling she was always critically and tragically late, especially now. She was late to become a Jedi. She was late to save Ben. She was late to the realization that her parents abandoned her. She was late to realize Snoke wasn't killed. And now, something terrible has happened – the prisoner she brought in was now on the loose, and that happened right in front of her very nose and under her watch. She was late – again.

The basic survival instinct told her to walk carefully as every single muscle and nerve in her tensed to the breaking point.

She walked through the door she herself locked – they were open from the inside. The keys were still with her.

She walked into the main corridor leading to the rest of the Resistance base as she felt that same immediate feeling of danger and cold she felt on the Guavian ship. The corridor seemed normal, but was completely abandoned and empty. And then she touched something with her foot – she looked down and saw that it was one of the young Resistance fighters.

She could recognize that wound – it was a light saber.

Rey almost howled with pain at the realization – but she couldn't allow herself to be heard.

He broke free. He broke free while she was asleep, and used her weakness to wreak havoc on the base, leaving her alive just so he could sadistically enjoy in her suffering later.

Rey felt the rage rising in her, fueled by her overwhelming guilt.

She was deep inside the monster's lair. She must stay alive and slay him. She followed the long trail of blood and dead bodies, all killed in the same way, as she entered the command center.

A heart-wrenching howl finally broke loose from her. On the command panel, there was Poe's body gutted with monstrous precision from waist to neck. He was still warm, being killed perhaps mere minutes before she found him. On the ground near him, there laid Kay, killed in an apparent attempt to defend her General's life.

Rey felt her eyes welling with tears.

"No! No!" she screamed as she tried to resuscitate them both, forgetting about the Jedi Killer still on the loose, forgetting about her safety and everything else. But they were beyond help, their blood now smeared all over Rey's hands.

Finn, she thought, at least he's alive. He went to Lothal. That planet is full of Resistance sympathizers. This is not over yet as long as there is one Jedi or one Resistance sympathizer alive.

"You have to let them go", his stern, cold voice was filled with mockery. She looked behind – he stood there in the doorway, blocking the only way out. He had his more ceremonial uniform on and looked like he had this somehow prepared and planned all along. Was he too easily captured, the same way his old Master was too easily killed? He must've had help – he was disarmed, and all these fighters were killed with light-saber.

But then, to her utter horror, she felt a strong and deviant attraction for him. It was something essentially evil: savage lust mixed with hunger for power and bloodshed.

It made her quake to her very core.

"You monster", she screamed, swirling her blade like a chainsaw in her hands, "You killed them! You killed them all!"

"Actually", he said in an inhumane calm and pulled together manner, "I killed the pilot, and the traitor Stormtrooper. As for the rest of them… you did it. It was your test and you passed it excellently. Our Leader is very pleased".

"No!" she screamed and flew across the chamber to cut him down, blinded by tears, rage and pain.

He didn't move. He didn't as much as flinch.

And in the last remaining nanosecond, another shadow came from behind him, armored with a light-saber, and clashed with Rey, blocking her vision even more with glistening sparks of grey and blue.

The fierce opposition she encountered sent her backwards. She fell to her knee and as she reached out with her hand to pull down her unknown opponent with the Force, she finally saw that shadow.

It wasn't Snoke, or a Praetorian, or another Knight of Ren.

It was her. She looked at herself like she would look at her own mirrored image. Only her doppelganger had a dead, inhumane gaze in her eyes and coldness that shook Rey to the bones.

The doppelganger was dressed similarly to the Knights of Ren, but she could clearly see the Jedi influence. And although she was mostly clad in black robes, she had the long ceremonial overcoat in deep gray color.

"You are conflicted and untrained", Kylo Ren spoke to her again with the old tone of threat and softness, "What do you think, how difficult it was to pull you to the Dark Side, where you belong?"

He strode slowly to her, lowering himself to her level.

She was sobbing quietly with her light-saber still flickering before her.

He pushed away her weapon with disdain.

"Hux finished the second Starkiller Base", he continued in the same condescending manner, "And as we speak, every single one of the Resistance bases, every single one of your sympathizers and your allies are destroyed. You killed your Mandalorian friend first. Yes, you did it. She was the first one to try to stop you, but she could never be a worthy opponent for you. Only now that lingering Light in you deceives you to think you're innocent, that you couldn't have possibly done it".

He smiled at her with the most terrible of smiles in the existence and caressed her cheek.

"Come now", he offered her his glowed hand, "Come to our true Supreme Leader. Bow to him. And he'll cure you from your illness".

She realized the terrible truth behind his words. He promised before he'd never lie. He didn't lie now. Her doppelganger apparition was gone – actually, there was none to begin with.

It was her.

She looked at her blood soaked ceremonial robes with horror and disgust. And as he reached with his hand to pick her up to her feet, she quickly summoned the blade he threw away, and pierced them both straight through their hearts in a single fatal blow.

* * *

Finn found himself again running away from the First Order.

The Twi'lek female navigated the small vessel with admirable precision, but the First Order's shuttles were at their tail and a TIE fighter came roaring over their heads.

"Who are you?" Finn yelled, frightened by her flying technique, "Who taught you to navigate like this?"

She managed to outrun the shuttles by quickly rotating the vessel up, almost colliding with the TIE fighter.

"Why does it matter, soldier, if we're dead?" she laughed and coughed like an old woman, for the first time revealing her true age.

"Reasonable", he uttered and then screamed, as they faced the TIE fighter head on. But a single blast directed to TIE core engine put it down from the sky.

They dove deeply into what appeared to be dense field of high grass that flexed and hit back like millions of whips.

"They hate this", she said, "Their radars don't cover anything lower than 1.5 meters. And this junk here is just enough for that. I escaped like this more times than I can remember. But I can tell you one thing, kid. It never gets boring".

She laughed again brazenly and with a hint of insanity.

"Great, just great – again, I'm stuck with a crazy person", Finn thought.

She flew them right to a small abandoned water-tower, semi-corroded and in the middle of a nowhere. The city was far behind them, detectable by only few skyscrapers. Lothal was always a poor dominion of Empire, and after the Galactic Wars, it was in an even greater state of disrepair. The short time of peace was not enough for their economy to regenerate.

"Home, sweet home", Twi'lek said.

"Wait", Finn said, "Tell me your name. You saved me. I'm…"

"Finn of the Resistance, or FN-2148 if my memory serves me correctly", she interrupted, "You better tell your General he needs better intelligence officers. _Intelligence_ being the key word, kid".

She reached with his glowed hand to him. He was completely dumbfounded.

"People called me Hera Syndulla long time ago", she said, "In another lifetime".

* * *

Rey awoke screaming, spastically clinching to the hilt of her light-saber.

Poe was at her side, shaking her shoulders.

"Wake up, Rey! Wake up!"

She gazed at him, not recognizing him for the split second. And then she broke into tears, hugging him frantically.

"Rey", Poe uttered, "It's alright. We're safe here. The black overcoat is still in coma. Finn is on Lothal. He contacted the base".

* * *

"That powerful Force shields the base and the traitor", Snoke said, "And the girl is stubborn. We have worthy opponents, Supreme General Hux".

Hux bowed to the voice of his true master.

"Leave it to me, Supreme Leader", Hux hissed like a well fed snake, "I'll scan every single planet in Inner and Outer Rim. I'll pulverize all that is tainted with but one Resistance fighter's breathing".

"Good, General", Snoke said, "And bring your new allies with you. Let them feel the bloodshed. Those are the ways of Mandalore".

* * *

They went to a small organic garden in one of the lesser Sullustian domes. Rey was silent as a grave as they walked there. Poe didn't want to obey her command and leave the hallway. He installed a small audio device at the door and ran to her side as soon as he heard her muffled screams only to find her coiled on the ground in what appeared to be a powerful nightmare.

She sat on a low bench and looked into distance for some time. BB-8 brought her the strong brew of local tea and made a short, worried sound. She took the cup from the little droid but couldn't bring herself to drink from it.

"Come on, Rey", Poe said gently, "Take a sip. They say it's good for the soul, whatever that means".

Rey looked at him with her tears-washed gaze and drained the cup, spilling some on her chin.

"How was it?" he asked.

"Awful", she replied, "It's bitter. But thank you".

She locked her hands around her knees.

"It was a telepathic attack", she said solemnly, "I know it. Snoke is trying to get to us – to get to me. I thought that was impossible. I should be the Light that never goes away".

She smiled bitterly.

Poe quickly sat down on her left.

"Rey", he said carefully, "I don't understand this Jedi mumbo jumbo and I don't pretend I do, but as far as I know, as long as you're alive, the Darkness will try to get to you, wherever you are. It's a pain in the butt, and I hate that you have to endure it, but if somebody can endure it, it's you – you're strong. You could've ruled the galaxy if you wanted to, but you didn't. I trust you, Rey. I trust you with my life".

She looked at him with the purest gratitude, smiling at his loyalty and simple-hearted profanities. But Rey shook her head.

"You don't know me", she said, "Even I don't know myself. I hate the Force. I hate that I'm untrained peasant with a broken light-saber and a Jedi Killer under my custody".

"Are you sure the saber is broken?" he asked, trying everything to comfort her.

She nodded.

"I tried to kill him with it and it just shut down", she said, "The kyber core must be unstable".

But she felt this was only a half-truth.

"Have you tried it since?" he asked again.

She shook her head – everything transpired so quickly that she barely had the time to even put back the saber in its scabbard.

She looked down on it and put her hand on its somewhat rough surface.

"Try it", Poe said, "It might surprise you. It happens with my old X wing all the time. BB-8 can tell you".

She smiled at him again, this time with more reassurance.

Something in the air de-coiled, she could sense it. Out from the deep fear and doubt, she felt there was still that light that couldn't be snuffed out so easily like the First Order thought it would.

She stood up and took the saber out. The metal was cold and felt steady. She clicked the hilt.

The brilliant blue light sprung from both sides like fountain of energy.

* * *

Finn was in that single room at the top of the watchtower. The room looked like it belonged to an obsessive hoarder, with stacks of ancient helmets and outdated parts of weapon dating back to early Empire. Hera gestured at him to sit down, him finding it difficult to see the small crate that served as a chair at first.

"Hungry?" she asked as she was pouring an indiscernible mishmash into a damaged pot.

Finn declined as politely as he could.

"Is this all that is left of Resistance?", Finn said, openly disappointed.

"What did you expect, kid?" she said as she sat down on the last remaining free space on the ground, legs crossed. "A Jedi academy?"

She snickered again with that unnerving hint of insanity.

"0k", Finn went straight to the point. "I need to find this man, Frank O'Hara. He was a long-standing Resistance supporter".

Finn caught her troubled gaze and added cautiously: "If there is still somebody with that name left on the planet".

"I knew O'Hara. They were all Resistance sympathizers: Frank, Lily, and even little Bren. But they were detained and taken away a long time ago. Their other kid, Dev, was drafted for the First Order. The last I heard is he made quite a career there".

"He surely did", Finn murmured and his heart sunk. "Dev has died a hero. He sacrificed his life so we could escape. He destroyed a Procurator class II starship and stopped a Starkiller ship from attacking us. He begged me to find his family. He obviously didn't know anything about their fate".

"The bastards", she cursed, "It was all part of their bargain. They said they would be easy on his family if he joined their ranks. Bright kid he was. He reminded me of another kid I knew long time ago…"

Hera's eyes darkened with sadness and loss. She reached out with her hand and said imperatively:

"Give me the medallion. I keep many keepsakes here. Mostly it's junk. But there are some things that could potentially interest you".

Finn gave her the medallions reluctantly. Since he was already stuck on this planet with this strange old woman, he could as well see what it was.

* * *

Rey went to make-shift cantina and shared her meal with other fighters. Satine was sitting at the corner of the table with her Mandalorians, all exchanging barely few words. They were in the state of _aay'han_ since one of their own has succumbed to his wounds on Sullust. They held a small memorial that morning for all they've lost in a battle.

" _Ni su'cuyi, gar kyr'adyc, ni partayli, gar darasuum"_ , they repeated and murmured their fallen comrades' names, sipping Mandalorian wine after each one.

Rey sat next to Satine and remained silent. They offered her a cup of wine too – Rey never tasted any fermented beverage and found herself being overwhelmed by the beverage's bitter and aromatic taste. She soon understood the origins of Satine's discontent.

"I didn't come here to hide in a hole", Satine eventually said and punched the table with her fist almost flipping their cups in the process. "Saxon Clan is on the move. They claim they're the only true Mandal'ore. They are sided with Hux. The longer the Nite Owls are away from the Mandalore system, our memory fades. People are scared. We are the only resistance left on the planet".

Her warriors made a small curse at the mentioning of the Saxon. They resented them even more than they resented the First Order, feeling a graver injury comes from an inside traitor than from an outsider.

"Follow me, and you'll see no short supply of battles", Rey replied sincerely, "But only for now, we have to stay low. What sort of Resistance any of us would be if we're dead? What sort of leadership the Council would represent if they'd send all their men and women to certain deaths? Be patient, it won't take long. War follows me and the _darjetii_ like a blood-hound".

Satine examined Rey with that piercing gaze of hers.

"Council is no leader", she said abruptly, "It is you, Rey of Jakku".

Rey had to laugh whole-heartedly. The fermented wild rice and fruit did their thing on her palate and her senses.

What a majestic title for a junkyard planet.

"No, a Jedi is never a leader", Rey shook her head; "I don't lead anyone".

"Let's see", Satine said briefly and stood up. The Resistance fighters around them tensed as they sensed the commotion.

3PO's voice from the corner of the cantina recited: "It is a common practice for Mandalorians to organize ritual duels after the burial of their dead. It would be insolence to decline them".

Rey was sitting still and frowned at Satine. She didn't approve of their blood-thirst. And she still had the shadow of dread after that dream. She knew it was a mind-trick, and a desperate one at that, but Snoke was powerful. The manipulation shook her to the core and Rey had no intention of re-playing it in reality.

"What would Duchesse Satine have to say about this? Why do you Mandalorians solve everything with violence?" she asked sternly.

"Duchesse was wise, but this new world needs you to be insane", Satine replied readily, and then grinned, "Come on, _jetii_. Show me what you've got".

"Alright", Rey sighed and stood up to her feet, gesturing to 3PO to fetch her old quarterstaff.

Satine shook her head and took out her _beskad_.

"The saber, _jetii_ ", she grinned, "Mandal'ore means business".

Rey frowned, but complied. She of course had no intention of hurting Satine, but she now wanted to hold a small lesson. A small brazen smile now formed on her lips.

Poe had to interfere.

"Gentle-ladies", he said trying to act relaxed, and glanced at Rey. "There is no need for this now. We can do this another time, when we don't have the whole galaxy after us, aye?"

Satine looked down on him with a smirk, while Rey squeezed his shoulder and said:

"It won't take long. Let her deal with this the best way she can".

"I thought you should be the rational one here, Rey", he whispered in frustration, but had to let her go – again.

"I thought we agreed all Jedi are crazy in their own way", she smiled brazenly. Poe rolled his eyes, but said nothing.

And the lesson was exactly what she held. Satine was a fierce and cunning opponent. But the more strength she used, Rey exploited it more to her own advantage without breaking the sweat. The exercise invigorated her and she felt her rigid muscles flexing and healing with every single move, her ligaments and bones being re-positioned in the right places. Rey played around; everyone could clearly see it, with Satine soon struggling to catch her breath.

Rey activated the saber, and then quickly de-activated it. Satine was a bit frustrated, but laughed and accepted the game. She felt the heat of the blade millimeters from her helmet multiple times. In the end, Rey used _beskad_ to knock out Satine's helmet from her head, causing her not even the slightest injury in the process.

It was a witty and an explosive maneuver, one that left Satine on her backside and her squadron snickering behind her.

"Is it enough?" Rey asked in good humor, reaching with her hand to help Satine get up.

"Not a leader, you say?" Satine accepted the hand.

"Your Basic Standard is getting better with each passing moment", Rey smiled and clicked on the surface of her translation device.

* * *

Hera gestured at Finn to help her with the crate that was stacked high above the ground.

"You're strong young soldier", she said, "Fetch it for me".

Finn struggled to stack other crates so he could get to that box. "I really don't have time for this", Finn grunted.

"Don't be lazy, son", Hera told him.

Finn almost lost his balance as he took the long wooden box and came down to ground.

Hera took the box and used an elaborate personal code to open it.

"Turn away", she commanded. "It is personal stuff, son".

Finn grunted again, but turned anyway.

"Now, look at it", she said eventually.

Finn turned and his eyes widened. In the open box, neatly kept and polished, were placed 5 different light-sabers.

* * *

Replenished, as the curfew above them has commenced, Rey went to her guardian post. Poe escorted her to the entry and paused for a moment, reluctantly.

"What?" Rey smiled back at him, "Go to your post, General. _Jetii_ and _darjetii_ belong to this hole, for now".

"Don't joke about it", Poe said, with a sudden outburst of solemnity, "Rey".

"What?" Rey's smile disappeared, "The saber is working, and you saw it. If he wakes up, I won't let him past me. I'm good at that, when I have something to protect".

"Rey", Poe grabbed her by her hand this time, and his grip felt a bit more passionate and firmer than he intended, "That's exactly what I am afraid of – that under that entire tough warrior Jedi exterior, you're still just a kid from a desert planet. This… thing is merciless. I agree with Satine, no matter how crazy she is. She's right. If something happens to you, then all of this – the Resistance, everything – falls to pieces".

She put her other hand on his shoulder.

"Luke Skywalker told me", she said, " _It is vanity to think that when a Jedi dies, the Light dies_. I am not the only light in the galaxy. Besides, nothing will happen to me. I taught him a lesson on Starkiller Base, and see how much more powerful I'm now".

And to his amazement and delight, she winked at him. Poe relaxed a bit and smiled as she closed the door.

"Jedi", he shouted from the other side of the door, "I'm a bad influence on you. Luke Skywalker will haunt me. That's why he's not visiting you".

Rey had to admit she smiled again. She appreciated the fact he treated her like a human, and not like some kind of a superhuman – super-weapon.

The medical droid informed her there were no changes in Kylo Ren's physical state. He has sunken deeply – and for the first time, a fleeting thought came through her mind: perhaps he really wants to die? Perhaps he doesn't want to be brought back to life? But she discarded this thought as a mere wild speculation on her part.

Her watch started. She sat in her niche, legs crossed, saber at her side, and let her mind go. She meditated and let the Force take her where she has to be.

* * *

This time, he came to her side almost immediately. It felt so usual and everyday, which made it even more outlandish on the whole.

"Watch out for that Mandalorian wine, Rey", Luke said. "And for the Sullustan tea. One makes you bold without limits; the other makes you unreservedly honest".

"I thought those were Jedi virtues", Rey replied and frowned.

"Everything is a potential virtue – in moderation", Luke said. "You'll see that when you want to tell the truth, you usually can't do it in its unrefined form. When it's too concentrated, it strikes as bitterly and as harshly as that Mandalorian moonshine they offered you. And what's the use of such truth to anyone then?"

Rey realized he was referring to her misunderstanding with the Council. She rushed to be completely honest and completely open so much that she completely forgot to try and find another way.

"You need to develop that refined vision of a Jedi, Rey", Luke added. "Things will get harder, you know they will".

Rey frowned again. Perhaps it was the Sullustan tea, or the Mandalorian wine – or both – but she had to ask.

"Why haven't you protected me from that attack?"

Luke raised his eyebrows.

"Haven't I?" he replied.

Rey was left speechless – indeed, how much worse would it be had her Master not interfered? And he reached out for her only so much to make a point – which he certainly did.

Again, she felt her loyalty was being put on the test.

"I would never turn to the Dark Side", Rey exclaimed. "Ever – you know that. I'd rather die an infinite number of times than serve Snoke or Kylo Ren".

"I know, Rey", Luke replied. "And I know if you decided otherwise, there would be nothing I could do to stop you. It is your decision and yours alone".

Luke tensed a bit and looked from across the hallway on his unconscious nephew.

"Ben always had this feeling of being trapped in this destiny", he shared his memories with crude and painful honesty. "That he was pressured and bullied into a role he never actually wanted. He fought to be a good son and a good Jedi apprentice. And for the most part, he truly was, Rey. But he never quite accepted one thing. And that is, whatever he does, it is only his choice and his choice alone".

Luke turned to Rey again:

"And it is his choice still".

Rey frowned. Part of her felt she was thrown into this war not of her choosing – she again had an unnerving feeling that her connection with Kylo Ren was much more than a mere mind trick.

"I see his will is heavily burdened with the Dark Side. He spent too much time deviating from the path. He abhors the ways of Jedi. I don't think he has the strength to come back, even if he wanted to", Rey eventually said, trying to emphasis on the great rift between them – she would never yield. And he yielded every single time.

"Why don't you ask him directly, then?" Luke raised his eyebrows.

Rey paused. It never occurred to her. In all honesty, she actively avoided coming too near him. She despised what he has done and what he has become – and now she had the lingering aftertaste of that nightmare too, more bitter than the Sullustan tea and Mandalorian wine combined.

"Ask him – what?" she whispered bitterly. "You know what happened in the throne room. You know what happened on Crait. He is full of darkness and mindless rage. Even if he can hear me in his present state, who knows what he'll do when he wakes up?"

Rey glanced at unconscious Ren with mistrust and bitterness.

"If he ever wakes up", she added.

"He was up against a very old and very cunning foe", Luke said, his expression again shadowed with guilt. "I failed him. I see it now more than ever".

He looked at Rey piercingly.

"Do you realize who Snoke is? Where he's coming from?" Luke asked Rey.

Rey shook her head. She really didn't know.

"Remember, Rey", Luke said. "Remember Ahch-to. Remember its many halls, its many secrets, its many caves… you saw it. He was hiding from us in plain sight".

Rey's eyes widened. It has finally dawned on her.

"The Prime Jedi", she uttered. "How's that even possible? He must be living for eons. It is…"

"An abomination – yes, that's exactly what he is", Luke sighed. "His own body was failing him for centuries. There is only so much the Dark Side can do to promote immortality. He was waiting for some time in hibernation. Waiting for someone powerful enough and susceptible enough to exploit him for his powers and then take him over completely, body and soul".

Rey's heart sunk. "Ben?" she whispered.

"Ben", Luke sighed. "Ben – the boy conflicted from the very beginning. I don't say he was a mistake. No one's ever a mistake. But his parents… me… the whole galaxy… we all failed him. We were not up to that task of recognizing the danger that loomed over him. Han was Han, he always objected Jedi ways. He didn't understand them nor did he want to. Leia has been struggling for a long time with the fact our father was Darth Vader. She forgave him eventually, but it took time to heal. And in between, it was Ben whom we lost. Too many losses, Rey – we have to stop them".

He shook his head. His expression morphed again in that of an old and feeble man.

Rey was moved, but her fears were not dispersed altogether. In a way, they were mounting now more than before.

"I am sorry", she whispered. "But what can I do? How can _I_ help him? You tried, his mother tried, his own father… Han Solo is dead, so are you, and Leia died of heart-break. There is a long trail of suffering and death behind him, and so much Darkness within him still".

"Ask him what is that _he_ wants then - that is all I say", Luke repeated simply.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter X.

Reaching out through the darkness.

Synopsis: Finn talks to the ghost of Kanan Jarrus. Rey tries to reach out to Ben Solo. Rose wakes up. The Sullustan base is being compromised.

"How did you get all of these?" Finn whispered, touching the unusual hilt closest to him.

Hera punched him on his fingers and he flinched in pain.

"Ouch", he screamed, "Why did you that for?"

"That one stays with me, kid. And the one next to it – let's say they have a special sentimental value", Hera said. "These three you can test. They're no less powerful. They all belonged to peculiar kinds: Rogue Jedi, outcasts in a way".

"Belonged?" Finn asked, "So all of these Jedi are dead?"

Hera seemed to be saddened by this for a brief moment, but then waved with her hand.

"What does death mean to a Jedi?" she said. "I am an old woman and even I, as the end of my natural life approaches, feel there is nothing particular to be afraid of. A step out of this reality into another, that's all there is. And since I spent 30 years on Lothal, believe me, there are definitely worse fates than dying".

"So these sabers haven't been used in how long exactly?", Finn asked.

"They're all in perfect functioning order", Hera's ego was tad hurt. "Try it for yourself".

* * *

Rey frowned and stopped at the door for a moment.

But her reluctance was almost completely cast aside as she realized there was something true and sincere in his state, and that wasn't just the vulnerable situation he was in. It was indeed hard to remember that this young man was a culprit of so much misery. He was breathing rhythmically and peacefully. The bruises and scars were fading on him. He had an unruly beard and his thick hair was in disarray. As she approached, she began to recognize the facial features of Leia and Han merging on him. Rey never had a chance to actually _observe_ that face – and she was under strong impression now she truly saw him for the first time. As she came even nearer, she noticed he had faint freckles. _Freckles_ – discreetly dispersed on his cheek-bones, barely visible under old and new bruises and scars.

That simple trait of humanity moved her even more.

What a waste.

What a tragic, terrible waste of life.

But instead of rage or disdain, she now felt only compassion and sadness. Had she been in his position, who knows how she'd reacted to the temptation? You can't run from it forever. One day, you have to face it and defeat it or be defeated.

Do it or don't – but don't try.

Remembering her Master's words, she placed her hand on Kylo Ren's hand, Leia's ring still on her finger. The two stones glistened peacefully. Poe couldn't tell her what they symbolized, but she felt there was an inherent peace emanating from the ring and that the two stones had the same ancient source. They breathed new hope in her.

There was no response, however – no change in cardiac rhythm, no sudden awakening. Rey focused now like a Jedi would to a Jedi in the best years of order's history – sharing wisdom and insights with one another. It was a risky business. But somehow, Rey was gaining faith. She could feel it sipping into her like a thin, but persistent ray of light.

"Ben", she whispered, "If you can hear me, wake up. The Balance needs you".

Rey found this sounded not like she intended. It was somewhat flat and unconvincing. Balance – she barely understood herself what it entailed, except for the end of war and bloodshed. However, she still thought his hand became warmer and his appearance, first clouded, now clearer in her mind's eye. But he was reluctant. It felt like he was constantly disappearing before her in a dark-walled labyrinth.

"Ben, I wish you no harm", she said and closed her eyes to focus, "I want to help you. That hasn't changed. But first you have to help me".

She frowned as she heard the beating of his heart accelerated.

"Please", she whispered.

The cell was silent, save for the sounds of machines he was attached to. Rey opened her eyes, slightly disappointed. The cardiac rhythm returned to its monotonous, basal tone.

"This is to be expected with patients in subject's condition", the medical droid informed her.

But as she begun to pull her hand to herself, Rey felt a faint grip just at the tip of her fingers. She flinched and reached for the hilt instinctively with her other hand.

He was awake, gazing at her directly with his eyes sprinkled with broken blood vessels.

"Rey", he made a low growl.

But she remembered that sound. That's how he tried to call her name in the Throne Room while she was desperate to fight off the Praetorian. Rey let loose of the hilt.

* * *

Above them, Rose Tico awoke from her coma. As she struggled to speak, she could clearly feel there was a breeze of change in the air: something almost tangible and as fresh and new as hope.

* * *

Finn and Hera spent some time conversing. For someone so old and apparently so isolated from the rest of the galaxy, she was very well informed. Finn was clueless about who she was, and that amused her to no end. She knew Han Solo personally and his fate saddened her deeply. "Too many losses", she said. Finn decided it would be unwise to confess they helped his killer son stay alive at that moment. He was somewhat afraid of Hera. She thought she was very troubled in her own way, constricted in this space that resembled both junkyard and a mausoleum.

Hera considered herself some kind of a guardian on Lothal, admitting there was a wave of Resistance sympathy across the impoverished planet. But as for herself, she didn't officially belong to any movement.

"Joining an army was never my thing", Hera said. "Kanan was right. You can fight the bigger battle by not joining any fraction".

"Who was Kanan?" Finn asked rather bluntly.

"You really are a bucket-head, aren't you?" Hera asked him and frowned.

"Leave the kid alone, Hera", a voice behind them said. Hera seemed not to mind at all the fact that her single-entrance and exit room was occupied by a disembodied voice, so Finn tried to stay unalarmed. _"I saw stranger things",_ he thought.

A figure came from behind Hera. He looked very usual – his plain clothes maybe slightly out of fashion, but then again, he was not a young man – if Finn had to guess, he was in his early 50s.

"Meet Finn of the Resistance, my love", Hera said smiling. "I supposed you'd come and greet him. Sorry for all the commotion".

"Commotion never stops", Kanan laughed. "Those who are alive are those who are under the illusion it does".

He leaned forward and kissed Hera on the forehead. For a moment, they behaved like they were the only people in the room, so Finn felt slightly awkwardly. And lonely – he thought of Rose in an instant, but had to snap out of it fast.

Kanan sat down near Hera, legs crossed. He looked at Finn, greeting him in a very pleasant and easy-going manner and looked at him with his bright piercing eyes.

"A Stormtrooper who joined the Resistance", he said and smiled. "Now, that happens once in a million".

Slowly, Finn began to notice something was unusual with this man. He was pleasant and relaxed, and tangible and present but somehow – too present to be real. And his eyes were far more brilliant and lucid than he ever saw on any human before.

"You are…" Finn shuddered, "You are not alive".

Hera smirked and turned to Kanan.

"I told you he's not the sharpest tool in the shed".

"Give the boy a break", Kanan laughed. "He had to travel through 10 different planetary systems and use a Lothalian shuttle. And he still has a long way to go".

"I have only one way now, and that's to go back to the base", Finn replied, slightly offended. "I tried to get one man's message – I failed. I met Hera by accident: lucky accident, because I wouldn't get away from the First Order alone".

"You were always so lenient on the youngsters", Hera grunted and looked at the apparition with outmost gentleness. "I had to help him. Besides, you kept telling me about that new powerful Jedi rising. Force knows we had a fair share of those in our lifetime".

Kanan squeezed her hand – the touch seemed real enough to Finn.

"Excuse Hera's bluntness", Kanan said. "We are stuck in here like two old relics that we are. We've seen dark days – but hardly have we ever seen days as bleak as these. I am sorry your generation had to witness this and to struggle through the failures of my generation".

Kanan paused for a moment and sighed.

"You have to take the sabers back to this new Jedi I sensed in the Force", Kanan said. "I am sorry this task fell on your shoulders. When you're alive (and Finn shuddered to this), you have the illusion of having all the time you need. I never foresaw that there will be no one left to pass on the sabers myself. We were so optimistic back then, when the Empire has fallen. It probably made us reckless. Young people can't understand the frenzy and the hope with which Luke Skywalker was greeted throughout the galaxy".

His eyes darkened for a second. "I'm afraid that young people today don't even know how that pure hope feels like".

But then his expression became radiant and pleasant again.

"Your friend is truly immensely powerful and full of Light. But – she needs your help. She will have to fight a great battle and she'll need you to help her".

Kanan's brilliant eyes examined Finn. Finn remembered the moment he almost surrendered onboard the "Conquistador" and the guilt overwhelmed him again. He had a distinct feeling the Jedi ghost knew this.

"I will help her no matter what", Finn said honestly, deeply moved. "I will take sabers with me. Rey will be thrilled. She'd be thrilled to meet you".

Hera shook her head.

"I can't leave Lothal", she said gently, looking sideways to Kanan.

Kanan interfered:

"I am bound to this planet. Only very powerful Jedi masters can surpass the constrictions of space and time. My training was almost cut short by the Clone Wars. I was a kind of a rogue Jedi all my life. That doesn't qualify me for a new Obi Van Kenobi exactly".

Kanan smiled.

"But Hera will gladly take you with her ship back to your base. Won't you, Hera?"

"Wait a second, kiddo", Hera waved her index finger at Finn.

Finn was absolutely perplexed as he witnessed these two strange figures arguing in what felt like a marital disagreement. However, their argument didn't last long. Hera went back to Finn, apparently exasperated.

"Alright, kid", she sighed, "I know you need help. I haven't used the ship for some time now, but I'm sure it will jump right up like it always had".

* * *

He struggled to get up and sit. His broken bones weren't completely healed and he bit on his lip to stop a painful yell.

"Snoke", he said shortly, with hoarse voice, "I killed only his physical body. I slowed him down, that's all. I was foolish to believe it was enough. I didn't see the whole scope of his power at once. But now I've seen it. He…", and by the dark shadow that permeated his face, Rey could clearly tell he was thinking his uncle, "… has showed me this".

" _We_ killed him", she said firmly, "And now he's after both of us".

He glanced at her from the side.

"So it seems", he uttered, examining her face.

"What else did you see?" she asked him sternly.

"What else did _you_ see?" he asked back with a low roar.

Rey shook her head.

"This won't do", she said directly, "Sullust might be over-run by First Order any time now. You have to start trusting me, Ben".

He sat back. He was still very weak. Rey could see he was struggling both physically and mentally.

"My visions are unchanged", he said in a hoarse voice and glanced at her from underneath his unruly mane, "You'll change. It is imminent".

"Do not taunt me", she exclaimed back, "We can spin the wheel over and over again. Who is more powerful in the Force, more wise, more trained, more intuitive… I am sick and tired of it. I just want our common enemy to be stopped. We did it once. We will do it again".

He sighed shortly and straightened up.

"If you want to destroy him, you need to strike him fast. Snoke must occupy a physical body", he said, "But it's not just any host. He needs someone strong, preferentially someone powerful in Force. He needs someone as strong as you", he said tauntingly.

"Or you", she interrupted.

He again analyzed her intently.

"Or me", he said, "He tried to bypass that… predicament by experimenting first with the Force. But no one could ever hold his power for long enough. Immortality is an unnatural state. The very fabric of the universe fights against it".

He stood up to his feet, swayed and quickly gestured at her not to come near him.

"That's why he preserved that disfigured body of his", he uttered, "The body of the Prime Jedi. The First One is also the Fallen One. And he needs the last Jedi to finish his work".

"I knew who he was since the beginning", he added, looking at Rey with some of that old hateful blaze, "I knew it all too well. And it only made my disdain for the Jedi even stronger. See how corruptible they are? The first among their first, the very Prime Jedi, fell prey to the Dark Side. There is hypocrisy in them, imprinted like a genetic code – lie, deceit, treason and hunger for power".

He paused again and added:

"I told you, I won't ever lie to you. There is nothing in the Jedi ways but deception and self-deception. How do you plan to defeat Snoke? He is the original Jedi. He knows all their ways – he created it. No, you have to turn to something else. _You_ have to turn".

Rey had to laugh with a brazen laughter that apparently startled him.

"But you seem to forget", she said, "I am no Jedi at all. Therefore, I am immune to whatever went wrong with the Jedi in the first place".

"That is exactly something… he would say", he barked back at her, "And with the same degree of self-assurance".

"I am not Luke Skywalker", she responded, "The same you're not Kylo Ren. Let's meet in the middle ground. Call it what you will. But this evil will be stopped".

The alarms for evacuation went off.

This time, she reached with his hand to him.

He looked at her hand with distrust and pain on his face. She wore Leia's ring, and his gaze fixed on the dark blue ornament, mixing pain and disdain. He accepted her hand, albeit reluctantly. He had no choice, she thought. It was either this or suicide, and the cooperation with her seemed to appeal to him more than being absorbed by the Dark Side.

They shook hands like warriors of the old, pressing each other's forearms.

The Force is good and strong, she thought to herself with delight, but said nothing. She knew how repulsed he was with all that had to do with Jedi traditions. But it didn't matter in the end – Rey knew he could feel it too.

* * *

Finn followed Hera to a small vessel she referred to as "Ghost".

"Irony, don't you think?" she said.

It was an outdated VCX-100 light freighter who was kept unusually clean and well maintained, in a stark comparison with Hera's tower.

"Unbeknownst to many", Hera said, sitting in the pilot's chair and activating the ship, "This is the best ship in the galaxy. It could outrun "Falcon" any time. And it still can. Even Solo had to admit this is the best vessel there is".

"When did it fly last time?" Finn asked anxiously, but got no answer.

"Let's set the coordinates, scramble our signal and we're off to Sullust", Hera said.

The "Ghost" shuddered and swayed left, then right. Then it tilted backwards and Finn nervously grabbed the holds of his co-pilot's seat.

In the next moment, they jumped into hyper-space.

* * *

He has changed from his tattered black robes into tan clothes resembling the Resistance uniform, only without any insignia. These small changes changed his overall appearance dramatically. He could easily pass as the new addition to the Resistance forces.

She didn't plan to board the "Falcon" with him, knowing Chewbacca would be vehemently opposed.

They went out from the catacombs last and waited in the shadows of a piled up cargo in the launch bay to get onboard the stolen craft. Rey held him in close range, with her blaster on and acutely aware of her saber at her side. Left and right, the Resistance fighters were rushing to their ships, almost completely unaware of their presence.

"You won't restrain me?" he asked mockingly as he was standing in front of her with his arms crossed on his back.

"You have no weapon, so why should I?" Rey answered, "Besides, would it stop you?"

"It probably wouldn't", he replied.

Rey frowned and tightened the grip around the blaster.

"As soon as others evacuate", she said, "We'll go to Snoke's craft".

"You'll have to do this for quite some time, Rey", he said, with a hint of dark humor in his voice, "Hiding the double traitor in shadows, monitoring my every move so I won't hurt your friends, explaining complicated Jedi dogma to them. It almost makes you eager to get to Mustafar as soon as possible".

"You sound like you want to stay on Mustafar", she uttered, "And I don't really think you do, Ben".

He shook his head.

"I detest that name".

There was a part of her that wanted to punch him right at the back of his head. This thought didn't go unnoticed.

"Try it, then" he said in low voice.

"Don't mention it again", she said, "Let's go, we have clearance".

* * *

As they entered the Sullustan system, Finn asked Hera timidly:

"What happened to Kanan?"

"You mean, when did he become one with the Force?" Hera said matter-of-factly. "It was not long after the Empire has fallen. He survived the Inquisitor and Darth Vader himself, but he was eventually killed in a sectarian conflict with the remaining Imperial troops who went rogue. Irony, isn't it? I actually considered re-naming my ship: Irony".

"His own apprentice, Ezra, joined the Jedi academy of Luke Skywalker afterwards. He was first his student, then one of the masters. They all believed that a better, new world was coming. And we all know how it all went from there", Hera added bitterly.

"About that, Hera", Finn flinched in his seat and cleared his throat, "It would be good for you to know that…"

"Uh – oh", Hera uttered with a worried expression on her face. "Your Resistance is evacuating. We have to move quickly".

* * *

Poe felt there is no appropriate word in any known language to describe the feelings he had when he let Rey with that _thing_ onboard the ship. On the other hand, he didn't want anyone else to navigate the ship.

"For goodness' sake", he murmured to himself, as he observed their movements with his peripheral gaze. Rey escorted Kylo Ren to the cabin on the left and reminded the rest of the crew not to interfere no matter what. She still feared he might try to mentally subvert the crew and she didn't want to make it happen. Poe shuddered. There were still invisible wounds in him after that interrogation.

"2 minutes to total evacuation and counting", Kay snapped him involuntarily from his disgruntled thoughts.

"Alright", he said, "Let's crank this junk up and dance".

The alliance decided to split into 5 sectors chosen randomly from their list of safe-havens. But as they were ready to hyper-jump, they needed no Force to know that the darkness was re-grouping and closing in on them.

Rey hoped she might get one flight ready vessel to head to Ahch-to immediately: but the available fleet was by that time so minute that every single ship was intended for evacuation. When they reach their destination, unknown even to her, she hoped she'd get that ship she wanted.

But the look on his face made her feel uneasy. It was as if he saw something she didn't know. But he didn't seem to think about the impending victory. He was in a dire situation. He was still struggling, and the only thing that prevented him from taking over this whole ship was the fact that this time he really had no place to go to. He was injured. He was declared a traitor across the galaxy. His saber was lost in the open space, probably broken.

Rey thought: _"He has all the reasons to hate us. He's locked in here with these pathetic shreds of the Resistance that he abhorred. I can tell that we are an insult to him. But he doesn't hate me. He even doesn't hate this crew"._

She observed him keenly from across the cabin with the blaster gun pointed at him. He seemed to be distant, lost in his thoughts. He looked sideways since they were onboard as he avoided any eye-contact with her. That left Rey with some space to examine him. With his fierce gaze lost and his eyes almost languid and filled with melancholy, with the unruly hair and unkempt beard, he looked oddly gentle and human. The same sort of compassion she felt for him time and time again came back, this time with the new intensity. He seemed to be unaware of her new-found sympathy. Perhaps he was indeed too far gone; perhaps he developed this rough shell that let only the aggression, the ambition, the greed, the pain and suffering in. But she found it hard to believe.

There was something more unsettling now seeing him in this present state, than when she had the glimpse of him half-naked. She looked down and blushed.

 _"I can't be doing this right now"_ , she thought to herself, feeling the rush of the blood to her face, _"This is just insane"._

The ship stopped and shuddered. They were out of hyper-space and Rey was, to her relief, out of her troubling thoughts. They looked at each other from across the room.

He smiled at her and it left her confounded for a second. She never saw Ben Solo smile.

"Endor 2", he said bitterly, "Your Resistance has a bad taste".


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter XI.

Memories and atonements.

 _Synopsis: Resistance scatters across the galaxy. Rey believes that Ben Solo isn't dead. Finn re-joins the Resistance. Poe can't accept the fact that the Resistance now has to protect their former enemy._

As they disembarked, he stopped with eyes fixed on one point.

It was the "Falcon", with Chewie fixing some outward damage on its shell.

Rey said: "Don't worry, he won't do anything. Just keep your distance".

Ben shook his head.

"I'm not afraid", he answered, and then glanced back at her with that dark humor again in his eyes, "And perhaps it would solve all your problems, so why not?"

"I told you not to push it", she replied, but felt his humor was somewhat addictive.

"Ask him if I can see the ship", he said suddenly, "And ask him why he didn't kill me on that bridge".

Rey shook her head, startled.

"It's impossible", she said, "Maybe later, when he's not around".

"Wookies are sensitive", he replied slowly and cautiously, "Anything you do, do it with their permission".

And as if he overheard them from that distance, Chewbacca turned and made an instant, horrifying growl that made couple of Resistance fighters almost stumble.

But then his growl turned to sad and low howl. In frustration, he threw away the screwdriver he was holding in his mighty paw, the object swirling and falling with a big bang. Chewbacca left, leaving the "Falcon" open. He didn't turn around to look back.

Rey asked softly: "What did he say?"

Ben shook his head.

"Nothing", he murmured, "Just some dysfunctional family re-union issues. Don't bother with it. Everyone involved is dead anyway".

* * *

It was the strangest of things Rey has experienced so far. Ben strode in front of her and she followed as he climbed to the "Falcon". The old ship had that distinct smell of old and many times welded metal, of oil and of fuel. And something more – the layer upon layer of different memories, discernible only to the Force sensitive.

He went to the cockpit, but couldn't bring himself to go inside, as if he was standing before an altar of a long forgotten religion.

He observed the control and the navigation ardently and for some time. Rey was somewhat tensed. What is she doing? What is she allowing to happen? But that stream of Force that felt good and right pushed her gently forward, murmuring this was something that should be done, and that this time is the only right time to do it.

He reached with his hand, timidly, and touched Han's lucky dices, still hanging from the top.

Slowly, she moved herself to his side. It was a face she never saw before on him. Through the veils of rage and resentment, there was something else: grief and bitter-sweet memories.

"I used to play here as a child", he said softly, not looking at her, "You can imagine how lucky one boy can be if your dad is Han Solo himself, your mother is the famous warrior princess Leia, and your uncle the very mighty Jedi Master Luke Skywalker".

Slowly and with a painful expression on his face (his injured bones hurt), he lowered himself to pilot's seat. It suited him well – it suited him perfectly, actually.

Rey was left standing there, confounded.

"I loved this ship", he said, trying the grip of the steering. Fleeting joy passed through him and Rey could feel it – but again, the old shadow came back.

"And then I hated it", he said with a low growl, "I hate it still".

"It is but a passing shadow", she replied, trying to sound as gently as she could. She sat to the co-pilot's seat, "I know what happened. I know he forgave you the moment he saw you – you, Ben".

He glanced at her from the side with the look of a wounded animal.

"He didn't know what he saw", he replied, almost roaring, but contained himself. "You don't know what has happened".

"Tell me", she said. And she meant it. Rey saw his struggle. It felt overwhelming for a moment and she feared the strain of the memories would be too much – that he would eventually lash out, claim the ship and join forces with Snoke again in who knows what kind of abominable alliance. But the maelstrom subsided. He made a long and sad sigh.

"He didn't tell you I had a sister?" he looked at her directly and somewhat tauntingly, "Of course he didn't. They never talked about her. They were both good at that – avoiding what was too painful and too dark to endure".

Rey thought that he relished in her distress before he added: "It remained a little dirty Solo secret for so many years".

Rey tensed in her seat. There was a tide of resentment and grief coming her way. Something that was long buried was now coming back like a boomerang and it threatened to sway her. But she remained calm.

"What has happened?" she asked again with even more gentleness. Rey was determined not to succumb to anger this time.

"She – Jaina – was two years younger than me. And she was unfortunate enough to be born into this powerful bloodline without her being sensitive to the Force herself. Then again, anyone born into Skywalker – Solo bunch isn't exactly predicted for happiness, Jedi or not", he added cynically and continued; "You could say I was more of a Skywalker, and she was more of her father's daughter. I think he loved her even more because she was no one, not meant to be a Jedi. He could relate to her more, it's just natural way of a parent".

"I didn't care if she was a Force wielder or not", he added simply, "She was bright, daring, full of joy. We used to play in this ship a lot. We pestered Solo and Chewbacca to no end. It was a rare thing to have him around so he allowed us all sort of mischief, and she was a leader more often than I was. She knew whatever she does Solo would forgive her even before she did it".

He let himself get lost in those distant memories.

Rey felt the tragedy deepening. How peculiar humans are – how perfectly and completely Han and Leia apparently pushed this memory away, so that even she, with all her heightened intuition, couldn't sense it in all its depth.

"I was 13 and she was soon turning 11 when it happened", he continued suddenly, rushing to end the story, "I remember we were playing when she lost her balance. I tried to stop her from falling over the ledge, but I was too weak. I was just a weak, untrained boy. Jaina fell and died on the spot".

Rey's heart sunk as he rushed again to run away from his grief. He pronounced his sister's name with outmost effort and pain – she could see it was a name prohibited from use ever since the tragedy.

"Leia could sense it immediately – but from across the galaxy, because she was dispatched from Hanna City to some important senatorial mission", he said bitterly, "She knew I wasn't to blame. She knew I'd do anything to bring her back to life. But she was dead. She was nobody. A Force user would've survived that fall, but not her".

He twitched with pain and rage and punched the steering, with piece of badly welded metal flying off and shuttering against the walls. Rey jumped, but let him finish the story – she sensed no threat, only pain.

"Han, of course", Ben added with a heart-wrenching tone, "Couldn't forgive himself for not being there, so he did the best he could – first he blamed me, then Leia, and then he took off. You see, once you put that wheel into the motion, Rey, it can't be stopped. That trust is broken beyond repair. They perceived me like some kind of a bad seed, even my own mother. She could barely accept the fact that her real father was the most hated creature in the galaxy, and now, every single fault I ever had she saw in that light. I didn't push Jaina, she knew that, but perhaps I was just too reckless and instigated her to be reckless beyond her abilities? Or perhaps I was just too insensitive, or impulsive, or an overall bad influence that would only get worse with time? My silence was a sign of an incoming plot. My outbursts reminded them of Vader. I was not a comfort to them, but a painful reminder that their beloved child has died. And not only my father, but also my tutors, my friends, all of the Hanna City society, and in the end, my mother's political enemies – now they all murmured in fear and shook their heads in mistrust of this awkward silent boy. Can you imagine how thrilled their enemies were when they grabbed hold of this fact? And how amplified their joy was by the time they discovered who Leia's father was? Everything seemed to add up: a murderous scion of a bad tree kills the only pure thing that power-hungry family produced. What use did I have of my mother trusting me and knowing I wasn't her daughter's murderer, when my own father couldn't bring himself to look me in the eye? When I was met with uneasiness and dread wherever I went?"

"Han disliked the Jedi ways before", he said, "And now he had all the arguments to resent it altogether. Their marriage didn't survive that blow. They soon separated – the greatest romance galaxy has ever seen. Leia saw that I was sinking from that point on into self-loathing and depression, but was unable to help me. And then he showed up".

Ben's face tensed.

"I tried to be his best apprentice. I really tried to make up for all those years they'll never have with their daughter. And for some time, I was really the most promising _padawan_ he had. The most obedient creature you ever saw. I was grateful to him for not discarding me like the rest of the galaxy did. I idolized him like a stupid child that I was. I was often daydreaming that I'd give my life Obi Van style to save the galaxy and to save my master or my future pupils. Does it shock you?" he asked, seeing her perplexed look, "Do you think I'm lying?"

Rey looked at him intensely. There was no deception in him. Everything he said was the truth.

"Never mind," he added abruptly, "As I turned of age, he even gave me his father's saber as a token of his trust and faith he had in me and my bright future".

Ben again sighed and his face twitched. He reached for his ribs instinctively.

Rey felt the tears rolling down her cheeks.

"I am so sorry, Ben", she whispered and touched his shoulder, "I didn't know".

"Of course you didn't know", he replied bitterly, twitching under her touch, "They buried it so deeply and so thoroughly that I almost had no use of destroying the Hanna City and all its temples and graveyards".

He straightened up and looked at her mockingly.

"Still feeling eager about joining the whole Skywalker/Solo legend? Because that's what we do – we destroy what we love one way or another, and then flee. We're good at that. That's our main specialty".

She shook her head.

"The story isn't over yet", she said, "You are not your grandfather. I am no Solo and no Skywalker. And both of us haven't even completed our training. So that's where we are".

"In the middle of a nowhere, that is", he responded dryly and quickly stood up.

He was again slipping through her fingers. It seemed that his pain was impossible to tame.

Distracted, Rey looked down at Leia's ring. And then it has finally dawned on her. It wasn't the map of Alderaan system, as she first thought. It wasn't representation of Leia and Luke, or the representation of Balance. People are much deeper and much simpler at the same time.

She asked him gently:

"It is you two? Isn't it? The one stone represents you, the other is Jaina".

He frowned and tensed, but didn't answer.

"Ben", she said softly, "How can't you see? She has never given up hope. She held you so close to her heart all these years. There is so much Light surrounding you. If only you could see it".

He frowned and backed away.

"You conveniently forgot about Crait", he downright hissed, piercing her with a vengeful stare.

The air around them became denser. The sunset was upon the small uncharted planet.

"Enough of this sentimentality", he said quickly, almost as hectically and demandingly as before, "I promised you I won't lie to you. And now you know everything".

* * *

Poe was sipping with fury. The little "Falcon" excursion lasted for a whole hour before they finally appeared on the exit. To make things even more frustrating, Chewbacca didn't let him in.

Poe wasn't ready to discuss elements of treason with the intimidating beast.

As Rey appeared, he gestured at her.

"Come with me", he said, "We need to talk. Chewie, look out on the prisoner".

Chewie howled and pushed Ben roughly away from the ship. Rey quivered and uttered:

"There's no need for that. He's injured and he is disarmed".

Ben looked at her. "It's alright", he said, "You go your way".

Ben then looked at Poe, but said nothing. His gaze was indecipherable.

Poe's, on the other hand, wasn't.

As he strode away with Rey, he couldn't wait enough to start hissing.

"What was that?" he exploded, "Would you care explaining me _what_ has just happened?"

"There is lot of pain in him and lot of regret", she answered, partially annoyed by his tone but cautious not to provoke his anger she knew was completely justifiable, "It weighs him down, but I sense there is an ever growing Light in him. I sense he could come back truly as Ben Solo. And then he'll be invaluable to us and to our cause".

Poe roamed in front of her like a nervous beast.

"Alright, Rey", he said, "Do you care what I see? I don't see he's useful to our cause. On the contrary, he's just a huge liability. And from where I stand, I see he's only invaluable to you. This man child with daddy issues goes there, and then tells you whatever tale of woe you want to hear, and just like that – you're hooked".

"That's not what happened…" she tried to interrupt him, but his dissatisfaction erupted like a volcano.

"My family died fighting the First Order. And you know what, Rey? If you failed to notice, I don't go around dressed up in weird costumes, killing everybody that ever gave me a bad eye and smashing whatever I don't like", he shouted.

"He tortured you, he tortured me, he almost killed you on "Supremacy" and then on the Guavian ship; he killed one quarter of the galaxy on his own or with the help of that First Order scum", he screamed some more, "He slaughtered the whole village on Jakku, he killed Lor San Tekka, an old man who couldn't defend himself even if his stupid Jedi religion allowed him to. For goodness' sake, Rey, pull your head out of that Jedi nonsense and start living in the real world with the rest of us!"

Rey just let him vent and stood there for a moment, in silence.

Poe panted. He had to lean forward, his mother's wedding ring dangling to his face like a sad reminder of all of his losses.

"And don't you dare tell me to calm down", he roared, "When I calm down, I take down dread-noughts. I kick some bucket heads. And since he is the ultimate bucket head, I might as well kill him to soothe my nerves. The whole Council wants that guy's head on a plate, so why would I go against their wishes?"

He straightened up and looked her directly with a brash gaze.

"Would it be more to your own liking, Rey?"

Rey's eyes darkened.

"Don't go there, Poe", she said in low voice.

"Or you'll do what exactly?" he pushed further, fueled by his own jealousy and pain, "Would it excite you? Does the kill actually thrill you, Jedi?"

Rey's heart twitched painfully – he knew the content of that dream and now he viciously used it against her. She felt the impulse of anger in her arm and to her utter shock, saw the pilot being pushed 3 meters away, stumbling and falling to the ground.

Rey regretted it in an instance, but it was too late – the damage was already done.

"Poe", she jumped to his side, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to –"

But he interrupted her with a quick, angry gesture.

"Save your apologies for someone else, Jedi", he was unscathed, except for his bruised ego. "You never were a part of this rebellion to begin with. None of you Jedi ever were. You have your agenda, we have ours. Whatever your mission is, I won't stand you in your way. But it is not my mission anymore".

Rey was distressed but felt too ashamed to pursue him any further. She let him go.

Again, she felt like the loneliest being in the whole galaxy, like that child lost in the desert, abandoned by everyone, waiting for someone who will never come back and losing every opportunity to make true and meaningful connections with those who actually were there.

The brisk night sky of Endor 2 was covered with stars. Planet's two satellites were slowly ascending. She would otherwise enjoy this ancient planet of green, but now she barely noticed it.

Her small communication device that she almost forgot she had murmured and buzzed.

It was Chewbacca. A new ship approached Endor 2, and Finn was onboard.

* * *

Chewbacca was inside the "Falcon", growling and cursing because of the broken navigation leveler.

Ben was busy with keeping the small camp fire burning in front of the ship, but raised his eyes as soon as she came nearer. Rey didn't know what to say to him. Although she rejoiced at the fact Finn will be here with some help coming the Resistance's way, the fact she alienated the whole Resistance by her recklessness pained her.

Rey sighed and put the safety pin back on her blaster. She covered herself with her old rough raincoat. In silence, Ben passed her a slice of bread and some dried fruits that were left for her by Chewbacca.

"I put you at the odds with everyone else", he said softly, as she accepted the simple meal, "It is either way unwise for me to stay too long in one place".

"It's unwise for any of us", she replied, trying to sound stern, "And I could clearly see this would happen".

She truly did, but it never occurred to her it could transpire so awkwardly and so embarrassingly.

"Chaos comes to humans naturally", he replied, "The unpredictability. Or perhaps even on the contrary, massive predictability".

Rey blushed.

"I never thought any of this would be easy".

"So you believe the Force then?" he asked.

"Do not provoke me, not now", she said, "Leave it for tomorrow, Ben".


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter XII.

The quantum of hope.

 _Synopsis: Hera surrenders the sabers to Rey. Snoke loses the battle. The Alliance must stop the clone army on Corruscant._

Hera landed the "Ghost" on the small barren place in the woods incredibly smoothly, making Finn realize she teased him on purpose on Lothal.

"That's your stop, kid", she said.

"You can't possibly go right away", Finn said. "Rey would be disappointed".

Hera laughed with her hoarse voice at Finn and ruffled his hair.

"Kids", she said. "Kids and babies against the First Order – I definitely have to re-name my ship, it's high time".

Rey was standing alone at the make-shift landing platform. She held the green glow-rod and smiled at Finn. However, her face was troubled. Finn could clearly see it.

"Rey", Finn said. "This is Captain Hera Syndulla of… Lothal. She helped me escape the First Order. She is the hero of the Rebellion".

"Hardly", Hera answered, shaking hands with Rey and observing the young Jedi with interest.

Rey smiled at the Twi'lek pilot.

"I'm so glad to meet you", she said, genuinely happy to see someone joining her, or the Resistance – she was unsure, now that it was a grey zone. "The Resistance is grateful for any help we… they can get". Rey's attention was immediately drawn to the small crate Hera held in her hand. It was a relic full of Force. The energy was somehow subdued, but Rey could clearly sense the powerful source contained within the box. It left her perplexed, but she didn't want to push this matter any further. She sensed there is a time for everything – and by this point, she really knew nothing ever happened randomly in this universe.

Hera raised her eyebrows.

"Listen, kid", she said to Rey plainly, "This is not the first time the Rebels have their fall-out with the Jedi. It's kind of an off and on romance with you two, but it's a romance nevertheless".

Finn looked at Rey and said with his eyes: _"I told you this one's a piece of work"._

But Rey appreciated Hera's sincerity.

"Finn", she told her friend, "There is good news. Go. The sick bay is in the next camp. Take the light".

Finn's eyes widened and he quickly hugged Rey, rushing to Rose's side with a short "bye, I'll be back soon" to both.

"Kids", Hera shook her head.

* * *

Rey took Hera to the "Falcon". Hera's eyes misted over with tears as she stopped for a moment.

"Goodness", she whispered, "I thought I'd never see this rusty can again".

Rey's Jedi empathy was sometimes working against her, she thought. Her heart ached with the old Twi'lek as she placed her hand on Hera's shoulder.

"Hera", she said, "I have to tell you something".

"You mean, the fact that you now protect the Jedi Killer?", Hera said bluntly. "The one who's also Solo's kid? Yeah, I know. I know. I may be an old Twi'lek, but this brain serves me good still. You kids think you know everything and that the rest of galaxy is just full of weak minded peasants. Ha".

Hera strode past startled Rey.

"Nothing I wasn't guilty of in my youth", Hera winked back at Rey.

Rey's heart finally got some much needed relief. She smiled and came running after Hera.

* * *

Ben was sitting near the fire in what resembled meditation, with Chewbacca barely containing an incessant low growl from the opposing side.

But as the beast saw Hera, the growl stopped. He jumped to his formidable height and made a bitter-sweet sound.

"Old friend!", Hera exclaimed and hugged Chewie. They conversed for a moment as if they saw each other last week, and not all those years ago. Rey looked at them with gentle jealousy – she wanted that kind of friendship, the connection that never truly goes away.

Hera finally turned to Ben and gazed back with her inhumanly bright blue eyes. The same as with Satine, Rey suspected Hera was also a Force sensitive, untrained but highly intuitive. Rey remained near Ben, letting Chewie and Hera some time to talk without interruption. But underneath it, she still had her concerns and felt uneasy every time she'd leave his side.

Ben looked at Hera inquisitively, but remained silent, his eyes now fixed on the crate she was carrying with her.

"So", Hera said, frowning. "This is him? This is Ben Solo?"

"Hera", Ben stood up and nodded.

Hera came closer fearlessly, inspecting his face with intensity that made Rey think she might have to interfere.

"You have your father's eyes", she said. "You've grown, but you haven't changed".

He smirked.

"Hardly", he answered dryly with his gaze again fixed to the crate.

"Oh", Hera answered sheepishly, "I see this interests you? You know very well what's inside".

He tensed and shuddered. The crate practically shook with the vibration of the Force contained inside. Rey frowned and reached for the hilt. Not such a good idea after all, she thought. The Force emanating from the crate was now alluring, murmuring and humming in his presence. The crate itself wasn't made of common fabric – it definitely served as the container for all that energy that was until that point muffled.

But this tension lasted for a split second. He flexed and stepped back, away from the fire.

"It is of no concern to me", he practically growled and turned his back on the small group.

Chewbacca howled and his weapon clicked as Ben strode off away from the "Falcon".

"No", Rey said, raising her hand. Not a minute's rest. "Stay here", she said to both of them, and went after him.

* * *

"What was that?" she asked openly.

"Didn't you sense it?" he replied bitterly. "Perhaps your emotions block you from seeing it. Look more closely".

Rey felt this falling back into his old condescending tone unsettling, but even more so, the fact he might be right.

"It's Luke's green saber", she murmured. "How's that possible?"

He turned to her with his eyes dark and closed off.

The sudden realization came over her. He was right. Her petty emotions blocked her view from the full scope of the atrocities he committed.

"The Knights of Ren killed Ezra Bridger", her eyes welled with tears, "And you led them. You… let them do it".

The old vision from Maz's temple came back roaring like a tidal wave.

He gazed at her with his old vicious gaze.

"It is completely different when you put a name on it, isn't it?" he snapped. "I knew Ezra very well. And I remember the exact moment he was outnumbered and stabbed in his back, then stabbed some more. They butchered him and I didn't stop them. I could've stopped them, but I didn't. Only thing I regretted is that I haven't slain him myself. The last Jedi master has fallen. I was free".

Rey wanted to scream, but she made only a small whimpering sound. It was all too much.

"I am too far gone", he whispered, and at that precise moment, he sounded and looked exactly like in her nightmare. "You know I'm a monster. You know you have to kill me".

Rey made a low, painful sound.

"And it is not over yet", he hissed. "There is much more to come after that. I'd kill him and his Master if I had the chance, and every single potential _padawan_ and Force sensitive child in its crib. I'd kill you and all your offspring and your _padawans_. I'd extinguish every single light in the galaxy until nothing but death remains".

"No", Rey shrieked this time, waking the nocturnal fauna of the planet, "No".

The hilt at her side shuddered and she felt it under her grip, howling with sheer Force.

"Do it", he hissed back at her. "You know you want it. You have that look on your face again. Do it, scavenger! Do it!"

Rey felt the crimson rage falling on her like acid rain. She could feel the same lust for blood, the same desire for vengeance taking control over her. The Resistance would take her back. She would have the unanimous support of the Council again. They have no use of this deviation. They have no use of old-man's apparitions behaving capriciously, murmuring idiocies of the past era. This is the new age, the new order. New rules apply and no tradition binds her. She'd find the way to absorb his energy instead of Snoke, and then she'd be invincible.

She remembered the Throne Room and how glorious and exalting and liberating it felt. With that sort of energy forever in her veins, she'd shatter the First Order into oblivion. A new era would dawn with her as its sovereign leader. An era of infinite peace, freedom and prosperity was at her grasp: no more suffering and no more slavery. She would establish a powerful bloodline that would be destined to rule the galaxy for centuries. She just needed to snuff out the light of his pathetic, wasted life.

And as she sunk into this maelstrom, she saw that her saber turned into a phantom-like grey hue. The brilliance was gone. Even her ring became dark and impenetrable like obsidian. And she couldn't be certain, but she thought she could see her Master's face: that of an old, frail man, with eyes extinguished with sorrow and defeat. He didn't speak. He just stood there at her side, motionless.

The imagery overcame her and tore her apart.

Rey howled in pain and deactivated the saber.

He stood over her, frozen and silent. "He'll kill me", she thought. And she truly didn't care. She stepped into something dreadful. Something sacrilegious even – she was tainted. The Darkness always wins, playing cat and mouse. Balance is but a short episode in between the devouring.

But in the next moment, he fell to his knees near her. He coiled and screamed, the ground beneath him muffling his terrible, heart-wrenching screams.

"Ben", she said, and touched him. He flinched.

He was sobbing.

The wound that festered for so long and that was only scratched on surface that day in "Falcon" was now ruptured. The poison burst open and was being washed away by his atonement. She could feel it. Some unknown creature howled in pain in the great distance, deep in the forest. Rey kneeled next to him, letting him cry everything out. He couldn't speak.

Poe, Chewbacca, Hera, Finn and Satine, accompanied by a small squadron of Resistance fighters and Mandalorians, came their way. Their shattered lights found them both on the ground, with Rey embracing Ben from the top, covering him with her raincoat.

"Don't shoot", she whispered. "Leave him alone. He needs to be freed of this pain".

By the time his tears stopped running, he was so drained that he couldn't speak, or walk. Rey staggered under his practically dead weight but managed to keep him straight.

To her amazement and extreme gratitude, Poe came to his other side and helped her carry him. Hera, Chewbacca and the rest of the team took shifts instead of Rey. She wasn't aware how far they went into the wilderness until they started coming back to the camp. It went on and on for ages.

When they finally reached the "Falcon", she staggered and lay down next to him, not caring about the outer appearances and about the condemnation she might receive. Hera covered them both with thick blankets made from Bantha wool.

They fell asleep the moment they hit the ground. Chewbacca shook his head. Hera rubbed off the tears from her face. Finn was crying in the shadow of the "Falcon". Satine stood motionlessly, arms crossed, with a frown on her face.

"Let them rest", Hera turned to Poe, who nodded at her. "You did the right thing, General".

* * *

At the Ren temple, a terrible, disembodied shriek shook the building down to its mystical roots.

The high priests and the Praetorians ran in terror to the altar that was growling and shaking in what resembled a dreadful earthquake.

They prayed to their Dark Lord to have mercy on them – but it was Snoke who felt poisoned and hit to the core. Kylo Ren, his right arm, his channel to this world, his strongest medium, has died and with it, part of Snoke's might was gone too.

Putrid blood-like liquid burst open from the altar, infecting all the priests, guards and First Order soldiers on the planet: almost 3 million of them.

* * *

"Rey", he whispered. He had the appearance of a man who woke up from a deadly illness. He was pale, and his cheeks have sunken. But he was smiling at her. Never in her life has Rey been awakened to a more beautiful sight.

She smiled back at him and kissed him gently on the forehead.

"You're here", Rey said.

"I was always here", he replied.

The Council was buzzing with the events of the previous night. Some older officers remembered Hera Syndulla and greeted her whole-heartedly. But as the time passed, many were left under the impression that the old Captain has somehow lost it. She was quick and strong as ever, but her ideas seemed to be pretty off.

She claimed that she brought the light-sabers for the two Jedi who helped the Resistance. She referred to Kanan Jarrus, the dead Jedi, as if he was alive.

Hera opened the crate and there they were – Ezra's, Kanan's, Ahsoka's sabers and Luke's green saber.

They all exchanged troubled looks, but it was Poe who again interfered.

"I have changed my mind", he said. "I believe we should accept Ben Solo into Resistance. We have not one, but two Jedi now in our midst. Rebellions are built on hope. What sort of Rebels would we be if we discarded that hope?"

Shock and mistrust went through the Council like an electric current.

Kay added: "The First Order raided Sullust mere hours after our evacuation. Our base was destroyed. Anyone who sold as much as a tea bag to a Resistance fighter was arrested".

Poe continued: "We received intels from all over the galaxy confirming there is an ongoing raid on every single planet. Every Resistance fighter and every supporter is being persecuted and arrested with orders to kill at even the smallest sign of opposition".

"We will not leave galaxy in the paws of these fiends", Poe said. "The final battle is approaching. And the victory won't be won by technology or armory or canniness. It will be won by hope, as it always was".

"We saw hope last night", Finn said. "I know First Order better than anyone. I was on Jakku with Kylo Ren during the genocide. But yesterday… it all changed. If Rey managed to win him over to the Light Side, I think this galaxy stands a chance".

Sato looked at them with mouth wide open. Are they all out of their wits? Is this planet somehow poisoned? Has the Dark Side converted them without them even knowing?

And he wasn't the only one. Humans and humanoids in the Council murmured, cursed and shouted in shock and disbelief.

Satine stood up and used her _beskad_ 's hilt to hit the ground. The ground trembled and the Council went mum. Only Sato complained that Satine has no say in the Council, since she is not an official member of it.

But her fierce look made him keep silent as she began to speak.

"I feel Force is good and strong this morning", Satine said. "My people followed the Jedi traditions since the time immemorial. We always had our differences. We stormed the Jedi temple. We stole the Dark Saber. And we paid dearly for it. It is not the Jedi who failed the ancient rites. It was my people that failed the Jedi and the Force. I vow to this Council and to this blade, passed to me from my ancestors, that I will never fail Jedi again. Rey is the leader. Where she goes, I will go. If I have to lay my life for her, I will do so. If a _darjetii_ can be redeemed, then Mandal'ore will be redeemed as well".

Mandalorians raised high their weapons and shrieked a call of warriors. It was at the same time both mesmerizing and intimidating.

"Call Rey and… Ben Solo then", Browne said, feeling both taken away by this irresistible outburst of courage and loyalty and frightened by its sheer force. "Let them speak for themselves".

"Aye", Sato added. "We haven't seen or heard from him since the evacuation of Sullust".

Rey came slowly into the tent. Hundreds of eyes turned her way. Ben came after her. He was still uncertain on his feet, but stood there straight and silent.

Rey could sense the atmosphere around them tensing and thickening with disapproval and even open hatred.

"My friends", Rey said, trying to ignore the wave of discontent coming her way. "The enemy has lost his way to this world last night. The battle has been won, but the war is far from over. We don't have the power the First Order has, but we possess something First Order will never have – Hope. The evil is a parasite. It needs fear and despair to feed itself. But the Light will not tolerate it any further. Remain hopeful – it is the deadliest weapon against the enemy we must face. And we will face it. We will defeat it".

Solemn silence fell on the Council. Her words were powerful, but the Council was full of people who lost so much fighting the First Order and where either deeply disturbed by Ben Solo's presence or openly resented Poe and Rey for letting him in. Fear didn't allow them to vocalize their discontent – fear of the former Knight of Ren.

Ben took her hand in his.

The unpleasant silence was broken by a faint alarm from one of the panels and Kay's shaky voice.

"Sir", Kay addressed Poe. "There is something… disturbing in the Outer Rim".

The hologram projection has shown the spread of a deadly infection turning all diseased into extremely aggressive hosts. Images have shown fall of some minor planets in the Outer Rim into chaos and plunder. The infection seemed to start deep in the Outer Rim, probably in the former Sith worlds – uninhabited and forlorn since the fall of the Empire. The First Order issued a statement there is nothing to worry about, and guaranteed that the infection was contained. However, no one in the Council believed First Order's propaganda.

"If they needed to confess to _this_ ", Browne said. "Then the real situation is at least twice as bad".

"Snoke", Ben said. "His energy is bleeding out. He is dying. But he won't go out without a fight. He needs host to continue living. As a spirit, he is powerful but constrained. I should've known it might come to this".

"Spirits, infections…" Sato shouted. "Even fighting against the technology of the First Order was beyond our powers, but this?!"

The Council was again in the state of uproar.

"Wait, wait", Poe shouted out with Chewbacca roaring and Satine clashing the _bleksad_ against the ground again. "Wait. How much time do we have? Intelligence officers, how much time do we have until this infection spreads to other inhabited worlds in the Outer Rim?"

"By the rate of its spread so far, we're talking days. One week the most", the intelligence officer responded anxiously.

"And that means what?", Poe asked again nervously.

"The annihilation of all there is", Ben responded calmly amidst the dead silence. "It was never about power and control as the ultimate goal. It was about death and destruction".

"Force, have mercy", the lament escaped the Council.

"Wait", Poe exclaimed. "If the old man's spreading like a virus among all the life forms, then he's losing his strength, right? If the infection is contained, if we shut down all planets and quarantine all our supporters, and if the First Order does the same, then that's it? He'll die out when the last infected dies?"

Ben shook his head.

"It's not that simple", Ben said. "I don't know what virus they used. The First Order experimented with many. And this is not just the matter of physical transmission. It's something more".

He looked worriedly at Rey.

"The Light Side is immune", Rey said. "I can feel it. But it means whoever succumbed to Dark Side or serves the First Order might be susceptible".

Browne howled.

"That makes for at least three quarters of this galaxy", he said desperately. "And perhaps even some within this Council".

He and some other officers again glanced with open hatred and mistrust at Ben.

"No", Rey exclaimed. "Ben Solo is out of his reach. Kylo Ren was his hope for regeneration and Kylo Ren is dead. That is why he's panicked. Afraid, even – the Light is toxic to him. He has nowhere to go. The Ren order is dead – he killed them so he might grow in Force. There is no living Sith left. There is no one remotely powerful enough left for him to possess for long enough".

"But then the question remains – how to stop this?", Poe asked.

"Let me see the pattern of its spread", Ben said boldly.

Poe raised his eyebrows and looked at Kay. Kay stood confused for a moment, and then flexed and gestured at Ben to come to the screen and see for himself.

"Thank you", he said awkwardly and observed the pattern intently.

Rey followed.

"What do you see?" she asked, aware that the surrounding officers shrunk away from them both, unnervingly.

"It appears to be spreading randomly, but it doesn't. It only wants us to think it does", he said. "It prefers the First Orders strongholds".

Ben turned to Kay who twitched only slightly.

"Officer, you don't have the map of former Sith worlds in your archives by any chance?", he said as gently and as politely as he could.

"No", Kay stuttered. "Perhaps the Old Republic had those, and we managed to retrieve some of their database but still our archives are largely fragmented, I'm afraid". And there was an additional thought she had, but didn't dare to speak out: _"Mostly thanks to you"._

Ben understood and nodded. He pressed his hand against the screen and invited Rey to do the same. He asked her softly: "Do you see it?"

She put her hand on his shoulder and closed her eyes. Vision came almost immediately in his presence. She found herself in a dark labyrinth full with mirrors. It reflected her image 1000 fold, similarly to what she experienced at Ahch-to. But the mirrors then started reflecting other shadowy figures, figures she couldn't immediately recognize. From afar, she could hear Ben's voice calling her. He was calling her in pain. And as she rushed to find him, she saw that the mirrors weren't mirrors at all – she was surrounded by armies of men and women, humanoids and alien life forms. She didn't know who they were, but she felt clearly they belonged to the glorious past and terrible wars. Some of them were powerful Jedi, while the rest were the servants of the Dark Side. To her horror, she observed a face she knew well – it was young, but it was unmistakably the face of her Master. It was Luke Skywalker, no more than 20 years old. But there was something off with his face and his presence in that strange place. He was somehow frozen, detached and not entirely human.

She shook off the vision and found herself again in the Resistance base.

"What was that?" she asked equally confounded Ben.

"It was a clone facility on Coruscant", familiar voice replied. "Snoke's been hiding it for years now".

The Council trembled. It was Luke Skywalker.


	10. Chapter 10

Attention, Rebels! Whoever reached this far has become a Jedi master. This chapter is little bit like Walking Dead merging with SW, but it's not a crossover. Clone armies hint to zombie armies. I see Snoke as a sort of Nosferatu: he looks the part, and his Praetorians look like Coppola's Dracula from 1992. So for him to make a ghoulish army makes all the sense to me. My brave Mandalorian warrior is killed in this chapter. I didn't plan to, but then I decided to give her the warrior's end she always wanted. Movements of Resistance bother me the most, because the map seems... off. But if GoT could pull it off in its last season, this fanfiction will survive discrepancy as well.

Chapter XIII.

Descend into the underworld.

 _Synopsis: the Alliance storms the clone facility on Coruscant._

 _Hux kills Satine. Luke kills Hux, who is already possessed by Snoke. Through Hux, Snoke threatens that he will regain his control over Ben, mocking him for believing that Kylo Ren was killed. The spread of the infection to Coruscant is stopped, but only temporarily. Ben and Rey must go to Korriban to destroy Snoke._

"Why Coruscant?" Poe approached the Old Master's Ghost openly.

"It's most densely populated… it is in the very core of the Universe, both mystically and geographically, with routes spreading to all known sides of the galaxy. And also, it has a long history on the both sides of the Force", Luke replied simply. "And there is more to it".

"More to it – how?" Browne asked half-timidly, half-annoyed. He was fed up with Jedi mysticism and to some extent, with the presence of Luke's ghost. He wasn't the part of the defense on Crait.

"It's still one of the richest planets in the galaxy", Luke replied simply. "The clones were always useful to the Dark Side, but they are impossible to build without serious financial support".

Finn blinked and nodded, looking down at Rose. Remembering Canto Bight, this information had all the sense in the galaxy.

"Why do we know about this only now, Master Skywalker?" Sato asked bluntly. His son died during Holdo's evacuation and he resented Skywalker's off and on appearances among them, this being preceded only by his resentment of Ben Solo's presence.

Ben replied cautiously in his uncle's stead.

"Snoke was extremely powerful. He used his knowledge of the Dark Side to cloud the true purpose of the underground facility. For the most part, it functioned like a regeneration and medical center on the surface, when it was actually financed by the rich elites who harvested the organs of their many clones. Even the Order of Ren wasn't aware of this".

He saw the mistrustful glances and added calmly: "I can assure you, all of you. I didn't know of this until now".

" _Demagolka!"_ Satine exclaimed and shuddered.

"So, Snoke's building another clone army?" Poe asked. "Total irreverence to human life and breaking every single war treaty don't surprise me - that's First Order. But now what? Another Order 66? Clone Wars 2? Damn, those people do suffer from nostalgia".

"No", Luke shook his head. "This is not just any clone army. It's clone army of powerful Force wielders. Jedi, Sith, Ren… the experiment is not over yet, but Snoke's attempt was cut short by the sudden treason of his pupil".

And he looked intently at Ben who averted his gaze.

"He is in haste. Now everything else is discarded. He has the sole purpose of destroying the galaxy", Luke added, confirming Ben's testimony.

"He let his pupil slay him in the Throne Room, as he rightfully predicted he would. He calculated – quite correctly – that the rage and hatred released would only push Kylo Ren further into the Dark Side, making him a more powerful host for him in the end. Rey was of no use to him – he knew that her loyalty to the Light was unwavering and that, once Kylo Ren was lost to her, he'd kill her. And _that_ would be the ultimate victory of the Dark Side. With the last powerful Light out of his way and with Skywalker mighty blood to sustain him, Snoke would rule over galaxy for centuries, if not even longer. He needed the last Jedi – the last Skywalker, or so he thought – to reign and to live practically forever", Luke continued to address the astounded Council. "But one thing he didn't predict – it wasn't Kylo Ren who killed him, but Ben Solo".

He turned again to Ben who now looked back at his uncle as if he was somehow drawn to old man's face.

"It never occurred to you, kid", he asked again. "How strange it was that you managed to wield my saber from that distance: you, the Dark apprentice, you, who were appointed as leader of the Knights of Ren?"

Rey looked at both of them worriedly. Something transpired between the old Master and his former apprentice in that moment – something beyond her reach.

"I managed to grab hold of the dark saber", Rey interfered.

"The rage, Rey", Luke answered exasperated. "The rage and him allowing you to".

Rey didn't know if he referred to Kylo Ren or Snoke, but didn't want to persist any further.

Luke came in front of Ben, looking up at his former apprentice sternly. And to Rey's amazement, Councils dismay and Hera's amusement, Luke waived his hand at him and punched him lightly and swiftly on his forearms.

"Superficial", he scolded openly his former apprentice. "Reckless, impetuous, stubborn and vain my apprentice is – from the first day until the last".

"Master", Rey uttered. "This is hardly even the place or the time…"

She feared Ben might lash out. But Ben stood humbly and let Luke scold and punch him in front of the Council.

Luke only said to Rey: "And you're no better, except for the vanity, so zip it, kid".

Hera openly grinned by this point.

"I told you you'll see me around, kid", Luke added, as serious as anyone can be.

But Luke's whimsies had an unexpected effect on the Council – something in the atmosphere de-coiled and de-tensed. Hera's giggle made Finn, Rose and some younger officers giggle inadvertently as well, the air of this change infecting the rest of the Council. Even Sato took a mental step back.

Luke pierced again his old apprentice with his bright gaze and inspected him for a moment.

"There is nothing but light in you now", he added. "Surely it didn't make you any wiser; it perhaps made you only a bigger fool than you was before".

Ben looked down at him – the difference in height and the disproportion in knowledge and experience were almost comical.

"Thank you, Master Skywalker", Ben uttered and lowered his head.

"Thank her", Luke replied. "If she obeyed you, you'd be either the new ruler of the galaxy or dead – or both".

" _The being dead_ part isn't over yet", Ben added with the hint of dark humor.

"Everyone dies, kid", Luke said slightly annoyed. "Haven't you noticed that by now?"

Luke did a remarkable thing – he made Council accept Ben Solo, giving the final seal of approval on the fact that he was, indeed, turned.

But Coruscant was an open wound in the center of the galaxy that needed to be healed. Luke was very open about it.

The old Jedi went from one hero to the other, examining every single one intently. He allowed Finn and Poe to join the mission.

He approached Poe and said: "Losing Shara Bey was one of the saddest losses this Resistance has ever faced. It was one of the saddest personal losses I ever had, son".

Poe noticed how this strong and vibrant man turned for a moment into a frailer and older version of himself. He knew what Jedi was telling was true.

"She took pride in the fact that she had the opportunity to work with you… Sir", Poe replied, casting aside every single remaining grudge he might've had against the Jedi. Growing up, he was proud that he was the son of Resistance heroes. However, a small part of him resented the fact that the Jedi demanded superhuman sacrifice from ordinary people. Now, that was gone. Poe felt his eyes slowly welling up, so he averted his gaze and rubbed off the tears.

Luke next picked Satine, commenting on her compatriot's Sabine Wren's bravery and her many combat talents, particularly in planting bombs.

Satine grinned. "I knew Sabine", she said. "She taught me everything there is to know about the bombs. She fought and died honorably. A true daughter of Mandalore she was".

Luke smiled at her and responded:

" _Burc'ya vaal burk'yc, burc'ya veman"._

" _Elek",_ Satine grinned again.

Luke approached Hera. They knew one another well since the fall of the Empire, ever since the battle of Endor. Kanan, Hera and Luke shared the same enthusiasm about the incoming new era.

"Hera", he said and embraced the Twi'lek.

"Master Skywalker", she responded and embraced him back.

"This time, we'll finish the work", he said simply.

Hera inspected him for a moment and Rey realized this wasn't just a small comforting talk of wishful thinking. This was all really coming to an end, one way or the other.

"Indeed, we will", Hera said with a hint of melancholy in her voice. "It is long time overdue".

"Time is nothing in the perspective of the Force", Luke said softly and then turned to the Council energetically.

"Council", he said. "You keep your men safe. This is the spark that will set the First Order on fire, but you are the light that will lead the galaxy once enemy is destroyed. Darkness is powerful, but the Light wins. Light wins always, don't you ever forget that. Light shines most brilliantly when darkness is the greatest. This alliance will destroy the clone center in Coruscant. Thus, the spread of this deadly disease to other worlds will be stopped. But there is another target that must be closed forever – it's Korriban".

Council shuddered. No one traveled to Korriban in at least 30 years. It was closed and sealed by the New Republic, and then it was only recently reclaimed by the First Order. In fact, even the First Order avoided the accursed planet, leaving it mostly to Snoke's personal guard of Praetorians and to elite troops from the First Order, hand-picked by the Supreme Leader himself. The planet was full of venomous and cunning life forms and full of dead Sith's energy that made men there feel desperate, aggressive or downright lose their minds.

"Ben Solo knows their ways the best", Luke added, glancing again at his nephew. "He'll lead the small alliance".

And then he added:

"And I'll be with them every step of their way".

"It's settled, then", Sato rose to his feet and sighed, looking at the miniature squadron with sadness and uneasiness but also with gratitude. "God speed, Rebels".

"May the Force be with you", Luke added.

As Council was being disassembled, a swift realization came through Rey's mind. Ben and she were split for a moment because the stream of people filled the narrow space of the exit. She had to struggle for a moment to reach him. And for a moment, she thought, he was oblivious of her calls.

"Ben", she came running after him as he eventually slowed down and turned back to her. He was tired and he was full of melancholy, but he turned to look at her. She felt sorry for pursuing him in this dire moment, but she had to know.

"How long were you two conversing?", she asked openly. "How long have you been seeing Luke Skywalker?"

Ben sighed and smiled sadly.

"It hasn't ceased since Crait, Rey", he replied with a sad voice. "He keeps his promises. He gives few promises, of course, but he keeps every single one of them".

And he looked back at Rey gently as he tried to go back to "Falcon".

"No", Rey persisted this time. "What did he tell you? What did he show you that he didn't show me?"

"At first", Ben sighed. "He showed me nothing. He was just – there. He was annoying me with his very presence, and he's good at that. You know he is".

The slight humor of his words made Rey smile again – indeed; he was a masterful sort of annoyance.

"He'd show himself up amidst the First Order secret council, visible and audible to no one except me, slurping blue milk loudly", Ben said and a short, wild laughter escaped him, "He'd corrupt droid's electric circuits. There were chips falling out, communication disturbances, and sudden power outings… the spirit kind of things. They became so common that the war council thought those were guerilla hacks by the Resistance, but couldn't pinpoint the culprit. It made them mad. It made me mad, but I kept silent. I tried to address him, but he wouldn't communicate. Not until I was dying".

Ben almost staggered. Rey almost forgot how badly injured and exhausted he was.

"To the sick bay", she said immediately.

"No, I'm fine", he said.

"It's out of the question", she said. "I need you on Coruscant".

Ben looked down at her anxiously but didn't contradict any more.

"And what else?", Rey asked him, letting him lean on her.

"I had nightmares of him killing me", he sighed. "On Crait, on Ahch-to, on Tatooine, Jakku, onboard the Starkiller Ship … wherever. The scenery changed, but that fact remained the same. I was dead in every single one of them. You used to appear there too".

She looked up at him but said nothing. He confessed this without a trace of bitterness in his voice. She suspected they had the same dream. But what was the origin of that dream, she didn't care anymore. She felt they were out of the darkness this time for the first time.

"It was only when I was onboard the "Falcon" that he began talking to me", he said. "At first, it was apparent nonsense. Minor memories, things I thought I've long forgotten. I wanted to die only so that I may run away from him. But then…"

He stopped. They were in front of the sick bay and a medical droid came through, requesting their basic data.

Ignoring the little droid for a moment, Rey asked: "What? Then what?"

"Then I heard you. I saw you. You were struggling", he said simply. "You were in pain. It confounded me. I realized immediately who it was and gradually, it dawned on me. Luke was there. He showed me… many things I didn't know. And even if I did, I'd think it a deceit before. But not now – now I knew he wasn't lying. Whatever fault Luke Skywalker had, deceit wasn't one of them".

He looked down at her with sadness.

The droid requested their data again in his flat, metallic tone.

"Let them patch me up", he said and sighed. "Then we'll talk".

There was more to it – she knew that. And she knew there was something that he kept for himself, some essential truth he withheld from her. But Rey thought she might have been pushing him too hard so she let him go. He disappeared in the make-shift military hospital.

"Ben Solo… human male… 30 earth years old… ", the droid was repeating the data mechanically.

His warmth and his weight against her side still lingered on as the rain started falling. She covered herself tighter in her raincoat and turned away from the sick bay.

There he was. Luke Skywalker.

"Come with me, kid", he said softly, but decidedly. "We need to talk".

* * *

"There will be great sacrifices, Rey", he said to her in a gentle voice. "You know that. You saw that at Ahch-to already. The Imbalance created is just too great. The rift must be closed now, or never. You do feel that, don't you?"

Rey nodded energetically.

"Never for a moment did I think it would be easy", she concurred. "I sensed something of that at Maz's temple already. Perhaps even much earlier than that – I was aware there was something deeply off with this galaxy, even on Jakku".

She smiled bitterly.

"But you know what that sacrifice entails, don't you?", Luke persisted.

Rey frowned. Her face tensed. She saw the glimpses and shades of future, but actively prohibited herself from dwelling on those visions. She was a born optimist. She didn't ask too much whether something that needs to be done, can be done. She just fought for it.

But in her heart, she understood perfectly what her Master was telling her.

"I know", she whispered and as she did, her heart twitched. "But let the Future come. I fear it not".

She closed her eyes and added, smiling:

"Always in motion it is".

She looked back again at her Master, who was this time sincerely amazed by her growing insights. She had no way of knowing this Yoda's saying. She didn't meet his ghost. Luke didn't mention him that much and she definitely couldn't have read it in the texts, because it was one of Yoda's personal proverbs he didn't write down.

"Good", he smiled at his student. "You're learning fast, Rey. Never give up on that spirit of yours".

* * *

They reached Coruscant some time later.

Ben tensed and raised to his feet onboard the "Falcon".

"Hux is there", he said. "That's good. He won't be able to pass this opportunity. He's vain and it will make him overlook… certain discrepancies".

Ben wore his old Knights' of Ren uniform. It was appropriately bloodied, torn and ruined and he had an appearance of a man who was long in hiding and then long persecuted and battered.

Satine's role was to pretend she was a Mandalorian bounty hunter who helped capture the traitor – Hera gave Rey and Finn Stormtrooper uniforms and to Poe, First Order's officer's uniform.

"I told you this junk I collect will have its purpose some time", she grinned at Finn.

"How do I look?" Poe turned to Hera and winked.

"Like every girl's dream, General", she rolled her eyes and laughed with her hoarse voice.

"That I know", Poe grinned. "But I'm wondering if I'm handsome enough for my old friend Hux there".

"You're irresistible on both sides", Hera coughed and laughed. "Of the Force, of course".

Listening to their conversation only superficially, Rey realized Finn was unusually quiet, apart from hyper-ventilating.

"You alright, Finn?" she asked.

"Yeah… oh, yeah", he answered nervously. "I just didn't think I'd wear this garbage ever again. I forgot how claustrophobic it feels, and damn itchy".

"We'll just go in, let Satine do her magic, and then we'll be out, buddy", Poe said, tightening the shoe laces on his boots.

BB-8 twitted quickly and apparently excitedly.

"Oh, not you, BB", Poe replied. "You're Resistance trade-mark face by this point. You stay here, keep an eye on the ship and on Hera, and before you know it, we'll be back".

"What's that supposed to mean, General Dameron?" Hera exclaimed, half-jokingly. "I've been flying this ship since before you wore diapers".

"Just be ready", he smiled again. The imminence of the battle had that effect on him, it always did. And a small part of him still relished in the fact he'll have the honor to handcuff Kylo Ren.

"I'm sorry, Ben", he said, handcuffing him. "It's just the procedure".

" _Damn traitor_ ", Ben replied simply.

"What?" Poe raised his eyebrows, confused for a moment.

"You better start practicing now, General", he smirked at Poe. "This has to look realistic".

Poe nodded and grinned.

"May I punch you, then?" he asked brashly.

But it was Rey who punched Poe on his back slightly.

"Don't fool around", she said, her voice distorted by Stormtrooper's mask. "Let's go".

"But I can punch him later?" he asked again sheepishly. "For the authenticity purposes, of course".

"Ghost" undocked the stolen First Order's craft, leaving the small alliance inside. Hera nodded at them like an old trooper that she was. "God speed, Rebels", she said, and quickly disappeared between two abandoned sky-scrappers, justifying her ship's name.

Rey felt the heat and the tension under the armor. Luke disappeared some time before, promising he'll be there and re-appears when the time is right. She felt rising nervousness and the two sabers she carried with her – her own saber and Skywalker's green one – shuddered on her back. Ben turned around and smiled at her. She still couldn't get accustomed to the fact they resonated each other's thoughts and emotions so acutely. Only this time, it made her feel secure and steady.

"Ready?" Poe asked with his face half-covered with black captain's cap.

Everyone nodded.

"Let's go, then".

* * *

"Sir?" the logistics officer addressed Hux.

"Yes, officer", Hux replied, nervously turning to him.

"There is an incoming ship requesting dock-in", the officer replied. "It's Supreme Leader's craft, stolen from the "Supremacy"."

"What?!" Hux hissed. "Give me the visual contact now!"

The image on the screen flickered and the greatest sight Hux could ever hoped for appeared before him – the usurper himself, wounded and bruised, handcuffed and escorted by a First Order's officer, a Mandalorian bounty hunter and two Stormtroopers.

"General Hux", the unknown officer addressed him. "This is Captain William Chemnitz of the battleship "Inquisitor". We have captured the usurper, Sir".

Satine growled from behind him and her _beskad_ clashed against her armor, substituted with a helmet stolen long ago from a Saxon warrior.

"With the help of our allies from Mandalore, Sir", Poe played his role perfectly and to his outmost delight.

"Is this for real?" Hux whispered sincerely to his officer, and then cleared his throat and straightened up. "Do their credentials add up, officer?"

"The password's slightly older, but it checks out, Sir", the officer replied with a trembling voice.

Hux thought about this for a split second.

"Pull them in, Officer", he exclaimed. "Send 2 squadrons to take the usurper in. Call in _our_ Mandalorians. Contact Supreme Leader and switch me to him as soon as you can".

Officer nodded.

The small alliance felt the powerful tractor beam from the base.

"The damned fool swallowed this up", Poe grinned with kind of savage joy on his face. "Let's dance".

* * *

Hux almost shuddered at the sight of his most hated enemy appearing at the exit of the craft. Two Stormtroopers were the first to come out, but they only annoyed Hux. A tall Mandalorian warrior held the usurper in close range. Captain Chemnitz held his arm on the usurper's shoulder, with his blaster gun pointing in the direction of his heart.

Kylo Ren looked battered and beaten up, his spirit crushed.

He knew he had nowhere else to go.

Hux practically trembled with wild delight. He barely could contain himself.

"And the Jedi girl?" he addressed Captain without any formal introduction.

"The Jedi girl was nowhere to be found", Captain replied sternly. "She left the craft before we could get our hands on her".

"Nevermind", Hux rushed and came inches from Kylo Ren's face. "Remember me, traitor? Snoke will be so pleased to have you back. The things he will do to you, traitor, when we get back to Korriban – it will make you beg for your death".

He grinned viciously and in the next moment, he kicked his former leader in the abdomen violently. Kylo Ren fell to his knees and coughed. Unseen by Hux, one of the Stormtroopers flinched, but just in a blink of an eye.

And unseen by Hux as well, the Mandalorian went couple of steps away. From under her stolen helmet, Satine observed her country-men viciously. Rey felt just an impulse of dread that Satine might lash out against them, so she used the Force to avert Hux's Mandalorians' attention from Satine and to calm Satine's rage down.

"I have waited for this day", Hux hissed, towering triumphantly over Kylo Ren. "Search him".

"That won't be necessary, General", Chemnitz tried to interfere but was interrupted swiftly by Hux.

"I know this serpent better than anyone else", he hissed. "He was a traitor, he was born a traitor and there is not enough caution when traitor of his caliber is around".

Rough and detailed inspection ensued. Rey found it painful to watch. He was healed, but not completely. And she could feel his pain. With peripheral gaze, she anxiously followed Satine who was already strategically implanting small detonators around the squadron.

Captain Chemnitz interfered again.

"Excuse me, Sir, General", he said with a woeful voice. "But my men are tired. We lost a whole squadron trying to capture the usurper. We were cut off from the main supplies. And our Mandalorian friend here is impatient to get paid off".

"Yes, yes, Captain", Hux hissed back at him. "Don't pester me with those banalities. Everything will be secured and in due order".

Only then did he rise his head and sniffed the air around him like a dog.

"And where is your Mandalorian ally anyway?", he asked, nervously.

"Over here", Satine exclaimed from the top of arsenal stacked up high at the dock.

Hux had barely enough time to protect himself with his hands from a powerful set of explosions that ensued, killing or injuring at least half of his squadron.

Satine discarded the despised Saxon helmet and dove into the enemy lines with a violent battle cry. Rey tore off her helmet and with her saber she cut Ben's handcuffs in two with surgical precision. With her other hand, she threw green saber into his hands. He hesitated for just one nanosecond, then activated the saber and clashed against the incoming blasts.

Rey again felt the same unbridled joy of combat she felt alongside him in the Throne Room. In the middle of that chaos, she felt a second of calm and completion. But they had no time.

"Go to the ventilation shaft", Poe screamed as he was fighting his way through the explosions and the incoming Stormtroopers, Finn following him closely. "See you later, rebels!"

Rey and Ben rushed to the corridor leading to the ventilation shaft - a narrow passage, badly secured, that led to the underground clone facilities.

Somehow, the resistance they faced was far below their expectations. Whole squadrons came rushing against them – the whole facility going into total lock-down – but they both felt strange sort of contentment and invincibility.

They were half-way to the underground facilities when Rey detected his thought in her own mind.

" _We don't have time"._

They reacted as a single mind, focusing on the chambers beneath them. The metal, the reinforced steel and concrete beneath them crackled like glass. A passage opened.

They were inside.

The chamber seemed endless in all four directions and vertigo – inducing. From top to bottom, it was filled with what appeared to be some kind of treatment chambers. Rey felt the life emanating from the chambers, but it was somehow a half-life. Something unnatural was harbored in this vast cave and it made her tremble to her very core.

Ben was keeping her back, the space around them illuminated almost solely by the lights of their sabers. He tensed and recoiled with the same disgust as she.

Rey activated one of the chambers. An unknown face appeared from behind the glass. The body within was alive, but only in crudest of biological terms. The whole facility was in some sort of stasis – thousands and thousands of souls captured in a nightmare – that's how it felt.

"The clones", she murmured.

A clash behind them reminded them this is far from over.

"Hurry", Ben said, and started implanting the hand – grenades down the corridor.

Above them, Finn, Poe and Satine kept the First Order busy. Satine was hit by a blaster gun that tore half of her shoulder armory away. However, she blocked it partially with _beskad_ and now was roaring like a beast against the dumbfounded Stormtroopers and Mandalorians. Their general was mortally wounded and trapped between the two fractions, the whole dock was burning and exploding with delayed explosions, and these three individuals were a bitter and an unrelenting opposition.

Satine was apparently in a state of red because of her damaged armory: she tore the rest of her tattered shoulder plate away and made a bold attempt against the squadron single-handedly.

"What is she doing?", Finn screamed and fired away at the squadron, trying to protect Satine.

"Crazy Mandalorian chick", Poe uttered and grinned, charging his blaster gun again.

Satine raised one of the dead Stormtroopers in her arms and used it as a temporary shield. Her ridiculously muscular shoulder appeared as she straightened up in all her height, her long tribal braids moving like an independent entity. Then she activated another bomb that tore apart yet another half a dozen of troopers.

The effect she had, roaring and howling, holding a dead weight in her arms as if it was nothing, with an explosion that followed, caused a total confusion and disintegration of their defenses. Only a couple of Mandalorians tried to resist her, but her rage was fueled by her content for the _auretii_ – she slashed one man's head and pierced another with the _beskad_.

Confusion long enough ensued so they could rush to Ben and Rey through the thick smoke and roaring alarms.

Rey and Ben were panting through the corridors of the underground facility, exhausting all the explosives they had until Satine arrived, planting at least a hundred of small, and hand held bombs on the other side. She had a wild expression on her face and seemed oblivious to all Rey's calls.

"I think it's the bombs", Poe said. "She's temporarily deaf".

Satine glided through the hall and implanted the last bomb.

"Ten minutes", she roared and rushed back to the exit. But as she did, another blast hit her directly in her chest. She staggered and fell flat to her face.

"Satine!" Rey screamed but Ben stopped her from helping her.

A small group of Mandalorians and Stormtroopers was coming their way, led by Hux. But there was something very disturbing about him. Everyone in the small alliance saw he was mortally injured and that life was slowly leaving him at the dock. His life was leaving him in that underground chamber still, but somehow – it wasn't Hux anymore.

Flickering lights of the treatment chambers and of the light sabers reflected his face for a moment. It was terribly disfigured, with a large portion of his skull torn away and half of his face bloodied. No man could survive that blow and continue walking, let alone talking or firing the gun like he did.

"You thought you could escape me, boy?" he growled in an inhumane voice. "I was here before time immemorial. I made the Jedi. I made the Ren order. I made you. So I will destroy you, boy".

His growl turned to scream, his scream opening and activating the myriad of treatment chambers with clones in them screaming with ghoulish, disembodied voices. The whole chamber trembled violently. Rey's ears hurt. Ben pushed her away from Hux, raising his Master's saber high above his head in a desperate attempt to stop him. But even with Snoke wounded, he was still a force to be reckoned with. Ben felt he was being dragged down to the ground and deeper, into a black abyss.

Suddenly, the atmosphere changed and Hux howled like a wounded animal.

"I don't think so", Luke's voice resonated behind the group. He was standing in the hall's rubbles, illuminated by the phantom light from high above.

"Master Skywalker", Snoke turned to the Jedi and grinned, thick blood dripping down his face profusely. "It is good to have you here – at last. Now you'll witness the demise of your last apprentices".

Luke activated his blue saber – which appeared as new as the day it was created by Anakin.

"Again, I don't think so", Luke said and deflected the violent attacks of Mandalorians and Stormtroopers as if they were nothing more than a light breeze.

Hux cursed in a dead language and tried to face the Jedi master – but his broken body was failing him.

"It is time for you to go now", Skywalker said plainly, looking down at the broken body of Armitage Hux. "You rest now, poor kid".

And with the swift hand gesture, Snoke's spirit was cast away. General Hux fell softly to his knees and drew his last breath.

"Come", Luke gestured at them. "You need to go".

Rey rushed to Satine's side. She was spitting blood but smiled at Rey.

" _Ret'urcye mhi",_ she said and slipped out of this reality into another.

" _Ni su'cuyi, gar kyr'adyc, ni partayli, gar darasuum Satine Trosyc"_ , Rey uttered and sobbed.

"Come, Rey", Ben pulled her lightly to her feet.

There was nothing they could do. Finn shuddered and discarded the rest of his Stormtrooper's uniform aside. He felt it was burning around him, smothering him with the grip of death. Poe was crying openly this time.

In a few moments, they rushed to the exit.


	11. Chapter 11

Some mature content here, but very mild. Kanan and Hera have an argument about whether love makes one weaker or stronger. I sent off poor Poe and Finn too easily, I admit that. But I got myself entangled and didn't find a better solution for those two crazy love birds to stay alone. It's all very bitter-sweet. Ben is aware of great sacrifices ahead.

Chapter XIV.

The untamed power.

 _Synopsis: Rey and Ben run away from Coruscant. Back on Lothal, Rey has to face with the profound tragedy of their situation._

The tragedy and the unnaturalness of that place shook them all to the core. "Ghost" wasn't there to pick them up, and they lost all contact with Hera some time ago.

But "Falcon" was there, caught in the middle of enemy fire like a small bird in the hurricane.

Until they reached the "Falcon", they didn't utter a word.

The walls behind them were closing in – the whole crumbling facility was going into a total lock-down.

Rey saw a squadron of TIE fighters and took two of them down, with Ben locking on other two. But they were coming at them in dozens. The "Falcon" received two direct hits which slowed down the hyper-drive charging.

"Another hit like this, and we're done!" Rey screamed.

But suddenly, two TIE fighters crash landed mere inches above the surface of the "Falcon", crushing against the closed launch bay.

It was the "Ghost".

"Hera", Rey yelled, "Divert as many as you can and hyper-jump immediately!"

She couldn't stand to lose another friend and ally.

"Roger that, "Falcon"," Hera replied and made an elaborate maneuver right in front of fighters' noses, prompting them to chase after her.

Then the hyper-drive acknowledged full charge.

They jumped. The space distorted in a wormhole. They escaped.

Endor 2 was compromised and had to be evacuated. With their dominion crumbling, the First Order was at the peak of its brutality. Hera received this information from Chewbacca, who was sent from Endor 2 to secure the evacuation of the small alliance.

"Ghost" arrived later to the rescue because Hera herself had to chase off a First Order patrol that was alarmed when the clone facility went to a shut-down.

Since the remaining Resistance has scattered in the Outer Rim, running away from both the First Order and the fast-spreading infection, Hera took the alliance to Lothal who stayed largely forgotten.

They hid the "Falcon" and "Ghost" on the outskirts of the city, near Ezra's old tower, and moved on foot through the fields of wheat. Hera felt it was best to stay there, near her ship (and possibly Kanan), with Finn, Poe, Rey and Ben hiding in the city. "It is better for us to stay separate", she said, "I have been doing this for years. And nothing thrills First Order more than a capture in groups, so go".

"And as for you, my old friend", she turned to wookie, "Lothal hasn't seen a free wookie in 30 years. I suggest you to stay with your ship for tonight. Tomorrow at dawn, we move".

It was a warm and starry night. With garrisons dispatched on more important planetary systems, Lothal appeared like the last remaining peaceful outpost in the Outer Rim. They ran through the fields stealthily. The exercise and the warmth of the planet seemed to help them with the paralyzing cold terror they all felt in their very bones.

They reached the old hiding place in the city. Finn broke into the abandoned shelter and coughed, suffocated by the old dirt and dust that filled that place. The whole alliance was desperately tired. Finn fell to the ground, panting. Poe put away his blaster gun and sat on a small crate. For the first time, that brazen look was gone from his face. His eyes appeared dead as ashes.

"Are any of you hurt?" Ben asked.

Rey shook her head.

"You?" she asked.

"I'm fine", he sighed, removing the blaster gun and the saber. He offered all his weapons to her with a timid gesture. He still felt the saber didn't belong to him.

She shook her head.

"No", she said, "The Force wills it. It is yours now. Keep it".

"What about you?" Rey asked Finn and Poe.

Both Finn and Poe waved their hands.

"She was a brave warrior. Completely insane and terrifying, but if I had to storm the whole First Order, it'd be with her in frontlines", Poe uttered. "I can't believe she was killed that way. She fought off a whole squadron herself. And what will now happen to her Mandalore, now they're all dead?"

Rey felt her heart broke again.

"There are other Nite Owls around", she said. "Their leader might be dead, but there are others to fill her place. Mandalorians are cunning. They always have a plan B. Besides, once Snoke's defeated, First Order will soon wither away and crumble. They're crumbling even now, as we speak. There will be a new era of freedom across the galaxy. Master Skywalker said so. And I believe him".

Poe looked at her with disbelief and bitterness, but felt too weary and beaten up to fight against her unbridled and desperate optimism.

They remained silent for some time.

"So, this is it?" Finn finally verbalized their collective dread. "Now it's not only the disease, the technology and the fanatics – now it's some kind of necromancy we're dealing with?"

Finn felt his temples would explode.

Rey and Ben had no answers themselves. Rey shuddered and discarded the rest of her armor.

"You might need those later, Rey", Poe said. He was slowly learning from past mistakes.

"No", Rey said. "I will face with this _thing_ as I am. Besides, no armor helps against _that_. You saw it".

"We're all going to die", Finn uttered. "I have to speak to Rose".

Rey looked up at him, wanting to reassure him and to tell him that they won't die, that she won't allow it – but she found it hard to utter another white lie. She didn't know. The shades of the future she saw made her heart sink again. The visions seem to be unraveling. She saw that Satine might perish like this. Blaze of glory – a true death every Mandalorian could only hope for. But the remaining future seemed vacuous – whole cities abandoned in forlorn. Planets rendered uninhabitable for ever more.

She shuddered.

Finn was at the door.

"What", Poe said. "You're serious? Don't try to contact anyone. That's an order. When we survive this… if we survive this, then we'll talk. And mourn".

"There might be another way", Rey said softly.

Finn understood.

"Kanan?"

"Yes", Rey said. "The Jedi ghosts are powerful. He could do it without disturbing the First Order or Snoke".

"But Rose is no Force user", Finn frowned.

Ben answered this time.

"It doesn't matter", he said. "The Force binds all there is. Rey's right. Ask Kanan. But ask him tomorrow. It's curfew outside".

"Maybe there will be no tomorrow", Finn said, bitterly. "You Jedi might have time, and I… we don't".

Ben sighed.

"Take my blaster, then", he said.

Finn looked at Ben, puzzled, and then at Rey, who reassured him. "Take it", she said. "And may the Force be with you".

With Finn gone, Poe felt that he's an odd number in that shelter.

"Alright, kids", he said, trying to act demure. "I have to protect this Stormtrooper's behind. That's what I do. I'll crash with Hera and the dead Jedi, or with my droid who patiently awaits me. Good for me".

"That's unwise", Ben said solemnly. "The more scattered we are the better".

"I stopped trying to be wise some time ago", Poe sneered at him. "This world doesn't make any sense to me at all, no more. Wisdom became vastly overrated".

He glanced back at Ben – at the back of his head, Poe still contemplated about a war tribunal that would send this man to prison, or to the execution squad. He replied in a meek attempt to cast away those feelings:

"You'll need some new clothes from Hera's junk tomorrow. You look like the Leader of the Ren Order in those".

Part of his humor was back. But his ego and his heart would need a long time to heal – if he wasn't killed first.

Ben and Rey were suddenly alone in the Resistance shelter.

He looked at her from side, met her side glance, but then they both looked away.

"I'll try to fix the water pump", she uttered nervously. She felt terrible thirst ever since they escaped from Coruscant.

"I'll help you", he said synchronously.

They worked for awhile in silence, none of them intending to sleep until the dawn. Rey always found this kind of work calmed her and let her be immersed into simple and straightforward functioning of a device. Long before she knew that the Force existed, she could literally absorb the knowledge on a device by long and detailed examination. It was telemetry, as Ben informed her. It was rare even with the most experienced Jedi. He has the same skill – now she knew she had it too.

Both of them did their best not to talk and not to touch. Rey was anxious their touch would somehow trigger the danger and send half of the First Order their way. It was a deep and undisturbed silence of an early curfew on the streets. It felt almost sacrilegious to break that kind of calm.

Finally, the pump gurgled and clicked as it began to infuse the reservoir with water. They had to wait for some time for the reservoir to be partially full. Rey slurped water from a broken jar. With no better beverage, she had to use water in Satine's memory.

" _Ni su'cuyi, gar kyr'adyc, ni partayli, gar darasuum Satine"_ , she said again and lowered her head.

Ben followed her lead. By the time she looked at him again, he again had that expression of a man that knew something, but withheld it from her.

There was uneasiness in her that she couldn't shake off ever since they escaped Coruscant. The imprint of Snoke's presence was so strong.

"Tell me", Rey uttered, "What is it?"

He was squatting near her as he put his hand across hers.

"This is the point of no return, Rey", he said softly, "Soon, we'll face the ultimate enemy. And you must promise me something".

"Anything", she said and in the moment realized how ardently her whisper sounded. It broke the silence like a thunder.

"You must not falter. You must not hesitate", he said, "You have to be strong and single-minded like that time… in the Throne Room".

Rey shuddered and felt a treacherous tear rolling down her cheek. She rubbed it off quickly. The last thing she wanted is for him to regard her as weak.

"I am not weak", she said, "You know I'll do anything and beyond to stop that monster. You know I'll never turn".

"He won't take any prisoners or allies this time", Ben replied tenderly, "This is his last chance to claim victory. And if he does, that is the end of everything: of all in the existence that ever was and that ever will be. I sense he's raging and rushing to that summit. He is but a ghost now and Luke's Light keeps him at bay, but he has already sawn so much misery and fear that it could replenish him for centuries".

"That's why you have to be brave, merciless even. When the time comes, you have to let go", he whispered to her and squeezed her hand tighter, "My love".

There was a deep, awful realization at the very core of her being, so awful that she blocked herself from confessing it. More than a premonition – she felt like an eternal soul caught in eternally reoccurring tragedy. A dreadful sense of a colossal déjà vu overcame her. The four letter word, spoken so softly and sincerely, broke her into pieces.

Rey sobbed without a voice, shaking with her whole body.

Ben tried to comfort her, but she was inconsolable. The air of loss and loneliness flooded her like a tide, but she still clang to that hope. She couldn't let it go. She never could.

Ben embraced her and she embraced him back, holding him tightly, even violently. She could feel the skin under her nails and the fabric of his shirt breaking with the sheer power of how tightly she held him. He was warm and pulsing with life. She could hear his heart beats through his shirt and the steady, strong pulse on his neck. She soaked in his scent and the feel of his skin against her face.

"Damn the Jedi ways", she whispered in a hoarse voice, "Damn all of them. I will find a way. I will not fail you, do you understand me?"

Ben looked at her melancholically and let loose. But by that point, the danger, the eternal darkness that threatened, the after-shock of that terrible place, and his skin, and his physical presence, confounded Rey. Love confounded her as she pulled him back and kissed him. It was as primitive as it can get. Her nose collided with his, and she shuddered at the sensation of his rough skin and dry lips. A freed scavenger slave from Jakku can't have much skill in these things, after all.

He tolerated the contact for a split second and removed himself from her slowly. He was now looking at her, kneeling, his expression that of sadness, devotion and reluctance.

"We can't do this, Rey", he said. "You don't know the Dark Side the way I do. It will try to destroy you in all possible ways. It will try to get to you through people you love. Love makes you weak and susceptible".

"No", she almost shouted, "That is not my fate, or yours. And if it so, then it's already too late. I'm changed. I've turned. I already love you".

"Then we'll all perish", he whispered grimly.

"You don't know that, no one knows that", she whispered and pulled him back again, "Let the future come and brings its judgment. Presence is only time that matters".

Rey pulled him back in and this time, he leaned in and kissed her back long and fiercely. They made love tenderly and longingly until the dawn. The same way they knew how to fight side by side, their bodies knew what to do this time as well. She wanted to keep him with her for as long as she could. She wanted to take as much of him with herself as possible. The precariousness of that moment drew them ever closer together – he wasn't aware that it was possible to love someone so much.

She coddled his hair with her hand, resting against his arm like on a pillow.

"He… Luke wouldn't approve this", he said and smiled.

"He has no say in this", she replied and kissed him on the lips, "I didn't finish my training officially. I still fall under no jurisdiction".

He smiled even wider at her.

"That's exactly something he'd say", Ben said. "Without the kissing, of course – because that would be just too weird".

It felt so good to forget everything, even if for only a couple of minutes. It felt good to pretend that they were just any other couple in love and that the very reality surrounding them wasn't falling apart.

But they allowed that illusion to last for only few short minutes.

"Come", he said and stood up, helping her to her feet. "We have to meet Hera in 10 minutes".

* * *

"You left them in the city alone?" Kanan frowned, looking at two figures approaching Ezra's tower.

Hera raised her eyebrows, but didn't answer immediately. There was an air of disapproval in his voice. They knew each other long enough both in life and in death to understand some things without saying.

"They're young", she eventually replied, as she was finished packing and hiding the parts of her pilot's uniform beneath the useless junk that she used as a facade. "And you remember what that means".

"Hera", Kanan answered firmly, although with a tone of sadness in his voice. "They're not just any other young couple in the galaxy. They are powerful Force users. He is the former Knight of Ren. The Dark Side is persistent and will now attempt to bring what it has lost thousand fold stronger than the first time he was turned. You can't just leave them like that".

It was Hera's turn to frown.

"I wasn't the one to push her in his arms, if that's what you're implying", she grunted. "They're in love, fair and square. They were in love long before I met them on Endor 2. Some things you can't push around. They come naturally. Let them be. This might be the only time alone they'll ever have. Besides, he's cured of his illness. And he is strong. He has so much of his father's heart in him, for pity sake. You saw it in him. We all saw it".

But Kanan was restless.

"You know he has to die, Hera", he said bluntly. "I forewarned you about it. This Darkness that he perpetuated cannot be stopped without bitter sacrifices. He might be no longer part of it, but the avalanche cannot be stopped only because he wishes it away. And she must be the Light that will stop that Darkness once and for all. You can't let her get… attached to him. It might ruin her. It might ruin all hope galaxy has".

Hera snapped at him – for the first time in a very, very long time. For the first time since he became the part of the Force, to be exact.

"Really?" she said in a hoarse voice. "So love is now a weakness? Let me tell you something, Kanan Jarrus. Sometimes your Jedi ways make you stupider, not wiser. They make you narrow-minded when they should make you compassionate and hopeful. What do you think kept me alive all these years?"

Kanan made a step back, but replied softly and sternly at the same time.

"We are something altogether different".

"Are we? Are we really?" she said. "In what form and way exactly, tell me? Is it because now only the most powerful Force users are the only ones that matter? So the "Light doesn't die with Jedi" is just a nice motivational thing for the rest of us stuck in this life, without Force wielding powers? Does it make me less capable of loving you? Did I not mourn your loss enough? Or perhaps it is you who are stuck in this dump because you have some incredibly important work to do on Lothal?"

Kanan was left speechless, but he knew she was telling the truth. The white lie he told himself and she about not being able to leave Lothal was only a white lie – he couldn't leave because of her. His brilliant eyes darkened with sadness.

"I roamed half-insane through that forest, looking for you, hoping you might still be alive", Hera shouted painfully. It pained her to re-live those memories again. "Ezra found you. We buried you. We made the funeral pyre for you. I was prepared to lay there by your side and die with you, because it all… all of this… lost its meaning. Zeb and Ezra stopped me".

"Hera", Kanan said. "I didn't want to hurt you. I just want to protect you from being hurt even more".

He tried to embrace her, but she stepped back.

"No", she shouted back. "No. You need to hear it until the end because, obviously, dwelling in the Force made you forget how life feels! How loneliness feels! How loss feels!"

She finally fell to the floor, crying.

"Damn it", she murmured. "Now I gave you argument for your reasoning, Master Jedi. Didn't I? I'm a stupid old fool".

"No", he replied and sat next to her. "No, you're not. And even if you are, then I'm an even greater fool".

She leaned onto his shoulder as he hugged her gently.

"Your visions aren't infallible, you know that", she said.

"They're not", he sighed.

"But what?" she persisted.

"The vision was very powerful", Kanan said. "Luke is concerned. He doesn't wish him dead the same way I don't wish his death. But the imbalance created is too great. The rift created between the Dark and the Light Side is too great. It cannot be closed without great sacrifices on both sides".

Hera blinked at him and rubbed away the tears.

"Let's stay hopeful, then", she whispered. "At least, they don't know, don't they? It's something only the Force ghosts can see, right?"

He nodded. There was another white lie. But he was prepared to bend the truth to save her from the unnecessary pain. In the end, Future is impossible to see. Always in motion it is.

Even for those who transformed into Force.


	12. Chapter 12

Only one chapter left to go. This is my complete vision of how Episode IX would look like. Some general ideas are: Snoke is not dead - he is a sort of vampire-sque figure who keeps re-emerging in time. He is the Prime Jedi, which is a very poignant point I hope they will explore in Ep. IX: what's more interesting that the fact that the very first Jedi was also the Fallen One? Rey will re-model Luke's sabre instead of making a completely new one - I opted for this symbolism of the old transformed into something new rather than a radical change. She is the opposite of Kylo Ren - he wants to kill the past, and she wants the balance. In the end, Resistance will have new and unexpected allies. I vote for Mandalorian female warrior, somebody similar to Bo Katan and Satine. I made her humanoid here, but hey, as far as there is another powerful female character, I'm happy. Call me biased, but I think there is not enough strong female leads in SW still.

This chapter was hard to write - emotional. Dear boy Ben dies here, sacrificing himself for the greater good. And Rey makes a desperate pledge in the end.

I wanted to leave it at that, but I just couldn't bring myself to let him simply die leaving Rey heart-broken and - pregnant.

Yes, I'm just that kind of a sappy idiot.

Chapter XV.

The Redemption.

Synopsis: Rey and Ben make the last desperate stand against the Dark Side.

They were charging at them. They could feel their mindless rage from the orbit. The whole planet reverberated with their greedy howls.

The temple was overrun with them – the half-life, the undead.

Men possessed and stripped away of their identities. Mindless beasts rushing to attack the two Jedi, with the sole purpose of gnawing on their flesh until their bones are turned to ivory.

But there was a leader there – intelligence so brutal and so superior that it stood like an obelisk towering its armies with a devilish sneer on his face.

"Iavaomir", Ben uttered, his green saber active, roaring in his hands.

Snoke had his old saber – of course he did.

 _Don't be afraid_ , he said in his mind.

 _I'm not_ , she said. And she truly wasn't. The Force between them and within them was roaring and swirling like a thunder.

They had to plough their way through the undead when a lightning stroke in perfect middle between them and Iavaomir, killing the mixed hoards of Praetorians and troopers possessed.

It was Luke.

Ben bludgeoned those closest to him with Luke's saber. His powers were soaring near her. They touched with their backs – him, towering her and slicing through their enemies like a ripper through high grass; her, moving swiftly and with precision, clearing the space beneath his imposing height.

Just a patch of brutality in both of them made them efficient and strong. They were not Jedi – not really. But you can't send a Jedi to defeat the Prime one.

Rey understood it now, perfectly.

She noticed the armies recoiled in her presence. She was harming them. She was so full of light and hope that felt insufferable to the enemy – an enemy who waited at the top, patiently.

Another set of lightings hit the staircase time and time again, clearing their way. They hit Iavaomir and around Iavaomir – but he deflected every one with his blade.

He frowned, but then he sneered.

As the noise of the dying started to wane, Ben could clearly hear him scream:

"Skywalker! You damn fool! You think your petty Jedi tricks work against me!"

Rey noticed her Master mere feet in front of Iavaomir, his robes floating in the tainted air, his hair electrified.

"You will not harm them", Skywalker said, his bright eyes set ablaze. "You are underestimating me, and them. And it will be your undoing".

Iavaomir descended slowly and laughed cruelly.

"Oh, Skywalker", he said. "You amuse me. You always were a funny buffoon. But your antics seem to keep repeating themselves, don't they?"

Luke used the Force to stop the possessed body from moving. But he knew it was futile. He was up against a ghost trapped in physical reality: a powerful Jedi ghost supported by the energies of many dead Sith lords buried there – a deity.

Iavaomir frowned again. The wind between them swirled like a physical manifestation of the disturbance they created. The temple trembled and the remaining creatures howled in pain, blood gushing through their mouth, eyes and ears.

Ben and Rey used this tremble to fight their way through and up the staircase.

And as they rushed to their Master's aid, his ghost flew up and stopped midair, some 5 feet above the staircase.

He struggled – he gurgled. _Can a ghost be killed twice?_ Rey thought and howled, attacking Iavaomir with all her strength. It was enough for the hold on Luke Skywalker to subside, but she was met with most hateful and vicious opponent.

"Rey", Ben yelled and flung himself over the staircase. She used her lightness and speed to precede him – he told her not to engage without him. But she was too impetuous, too loyal, too much of a Jedi. She saw her Master's plight and she reacted on an instinct.

Iavamoir glanced at her with disdain and a hint of – panic. She exerted the same effect on him as she exerted on his ghouls. He was frightened of her. She was toxic to him.

 _The light that never goes away_ , he thought proudly of her as he attacked Iavaomir from the back. _I am no Jedi, he thought. I was the Knight of Ren. I know all your doctrines._

This thought didn't go unnoticed. Iavaomir looked at him with utter hatred.

"You vain, stupid boy", he growled at him as he dueled with both of them all at once.

Their sabers crackled, howled and roared like three wild beasts, like dying stars caught in each other's gravitational fields.

Rey yelped. She was strong, but she took too much passion in with her. She wanted this to be ended. She wanted the peace, the restoration of balance. She wanted him beside her, inside her, forever. Memories of Lothal transiting through her soul like visions of paradise.

She was losing strength and all of this amused Iavaomir and horrified Ben.

Ben pressed against the foe harder, feeling she was losing her grip.

But it didn't seem to stop Iavaomir – on the contrary, it only made him stronger. With a quick gesture and mixed fear and disgust, she pushed Rey far away from them. She flew away with a scream and fell some distance away from them on the platform.

"Rey!" Ben howled, looking back at where she fell with outmost horror. Not all ghouls were obliterated. She was injured. She was surrounded. Her saber flew away from her and she tried to summon it to her side again. She succeeded, but he could sense her confusion.

He had to save her. This was his doing – he will undo it.

He attacked Iavaomir again, and this time, the kyber crystal in his former saber murmured to him.

 _I want to help you._

 _I remember you._

 _Claim me._

 _Take me, boy._

He could clearly hear her struggling. Where was Luke? Why is he always absent when he is needed the most?

Never mind – he doesn't need the old Jedi. He doesn't need anything, save for her. And he'll do anything to protect her.

The temptation was too great – he used the Force to pull the saber to his other hand. To his amazement, it yielded quickly. Like her flesh, like a lover's embrace – that's how swiftly it clung to his hand.

Iavaomir made surprisingly little effort to reclaim the blade as Ben strode forth to slay him.

It will end soon. It will end now. He'll end all of this. He will be greeted as a hero. All his transgressions will be behind him. His burden will be forever lifted.

Iavaomir took a step back. But he wasn't afraid. He was mocking him.

"Good boy", he hissed at him. "Well trained dog you are".

Those words sent him in a downright frenzy. He swung blades high, the crimson red in his left hand howling, and the green in his right hand crackling and fizzing.

"Ben", a broken and weak voice behind him said. "Don't do it. It is a trap. He is trying to subdue you".

"You can't kill him", Ben yelled. "Only the living can".

Rey yelped somewhere behind him and it distracted Ben to his very core.

"Ben, focus", Luke was struggling to hold Iavaomir at the safe distance, but the Force was sipping from him like sand. "Remember your training. Disengage now".

"This is getting tiresome", Iavaomir sighed and with the tip of his finger, pushed Luke back again. He strode past confounded Ben as if he didn't care about the sabers in his hands the slightest.

Rey, he's coming for Rey.

Ben howled and tried to stop him, but the fierce Force grip stopped him where he was standing, his hands high above his head with both sabers howling.

Iavaomir was stalking away, uninterrupted and without the haste.

"When I'm finished with her", he said. "There will be no one to stop me. You fool – you thought you could run away from me so easily? You thought I could be so easily killed?"

He laughed back at him, genuinely amused.

Ben was left paralyzed.

"Ben", Luke whispered, now his voice nothing more than a light breeze. "Let go of the Dark Saber now".

Ben obeyed his former master this time – for the first time in ages. But the saber wouldn't budge. It was glued to his body. It was mocking him.

"Let me teach you the last lesson, boy", Iavaomir was slowly descending down the stairs. "That saber was designed and forged by Darth Traya herself. Powerful in the Dark Side, powerful in the Light – all knowledge contained in a single powerful being. She was the mistress of treason, the artist of deception, and nothing escaped her refined Sith vision".

Iavaomir snickered.

"It suits you well, you traitor", he said. "You were the traitor from the beginning until the end. And when I'm done with her, you'll serve your purpose. You'll fulfill your destiny".

Now he was openly laughing.

 _Ben_ , Rey cried in his mind. Don't listen to him. _I can defeat him. I can see him. Just hold on._

 _No,_ he replied, panting and howling under the strain. _He's too powerful. He defeated Luke. You can't take him down on your own._

His eyes widened.

 _You're hurt,_ he cried out.

The rage exploded in him like a tidal wave. Killing this fiend from behind allured him. He prayed to everyone and to no one to help him save her.

Miraculously, the grip loosened. This time, Iavaomir looked genuinely surprised.

Ben stopped him with the Force grip so vicious and so powerful that it made Iavaomir begin to tremble and suffocate. His body was being pulled up high above the staircase and towards Ben.

That powerful Chiss was the best vessel Snoke could find, but it was still failing him.

Ben relished in the sensation of his enemy's bones crackling under his grasp like glass.

"You will not harm her", Ben snarled. "You will not harm anyone anymore".

Iavaomir struggled to speak. Snoke struggled to get away. He coiled in his host like a snake.

Ben did this for too long – he felt the tingling sensation of his enemy caught and defeated. Finally, soon it will be all over.

With only his mind and no physical effort on his part, he left Iavaomir levitate in the air before him for some time. He wanted everyone to see it. He wanted her to see it. Not even Darth Vader was this powerful.

She was rushing up the stairs, her screams muffled.

And in the next moment, Ben slew his enemy. Again, right in the middle, using both blades – the mutilated body falling heavily against the marble.

But the release lasted for a nanosecond – in the next moment, throbbing pain in his head, in his hands, in his whole body folded him in half. He felt struck down by an invisible force. He felt poisoned.

The Dark Side – he let it in. He invited it. He failed. He failed in the most basic of all senses. A _padawan_ could see through this deception, but not him. He was stupid, weak, torn, and useless.

In his mind, dying Iavaomir whispered viciously.

" _You can't kill me, boy"._

Ben was on his knees, howling, the Darth Traya's blade still glued to his hand, still mocking him. But then his eyes saw her – not the whole of her, just her legs and her waist as she was running to him, the figure bathed in bright light, air between them sucked away, time slowed to a standstill.

It dawned on him. His lips curled into a faint smile.

Darth Traya's saber fell from his side and went mum on its own.

"I can't" Ben replied simply. "But she can. And that's all that matters".

Iavaomir died with an expression of shock, disappointment and discontent on his face. Was it truly Iavaomir's face that permeated in the end, a face of a creature that finally saw the truth behind the power he was so loyally serving? Or was it Snoke – Ben couldn't tell.

The bond that was severed between him and the dark saber sent a blast of energy that shook the temple and hit Rey straight, sending her on her back. She was rendered unconscious. He was hurting her, over and over again.

But it will stop now.

His body felt frail and torn. He felt as if he had two hearts all of a sudden – one was his own, and that one was slowly dying. The other one pumped black putrid blood through his veins and was violently taking over him and his life.

He tried to reach out for the Darth Traya's saber – however, he was so weak. And he was too much in the light, at least for now. By the time he regains his strength, that strength will not be his strength anymore, but Snoke's.

His mind was solely fixed on Rey. She will soon regain consciousness – she must. His poor love – always pushed around to do the will of the Force. Distant roar of the engines startled him – Hera, Chewbacca, Finn and Poe would be here soon. Those damn loyal fools! They risk everything for no gain.

"Stop", he gurgled, and warm blood rushed to his mouth. He spat it out and started rising to his feet with outmost effort. He howled, but the howl stopped in his dry and injured throat. Amidst all the mayhem that they left behind, he saw Rey lying motionlessly on a platform some 100 meters down from him. It was an impossible task. He strode down to her and miraculously didn't stumble. Everything around him became grey and with a red hue.

He was dying. He felt the terrible inner struggle and the insurgence of a powerful malignant voice, murmuring to him in a dead language he heard on Coruscant. Snoke was gaining power, feeding of his rage, his regret, his pain and his yearning to be bound to this life and to her. Snoke was right – he was desperate and he was weak and foolish. He was desperate to cut any deal with any Dark Side user if it could only make him love her and live with her forever – pathetic fool. He was going down the exact path Anakin took. He was becoming his grandfather, Darth Vader – the thing he so coveted. Now it all looked like a sick joke. He grinned bitterly.

He felt the overwhelming, dizzying guilt – he put all of this into motion, a long time ago. And he sealed all their fates by falling in blind, imperfect and idiotic love for this girl. Then he pulled her down with him – as he predicted every Solo and Skywalker would eventually do.

Well, he surpassed all of them now – and by a long shot. He grinned again; this time his mental state was starting to crumble rapidly.

His uncle was nowhere to be seen and it didn't surprise him at all. He was standing on his own, now and always.

" _I have to stop this",_ he thought and tried to summon Luke's green saber. It flinched and trembled, but remained by Rey's side. The Dark Side in him was slowly taking hold. What an irony – he was again stuck at the very beginning, in the very middle between Dark and the Light, without any meaningful help from any side. She was far away from him – even her.

He grinned, half-insane.

Eventually, he stumbled and fell next to her. Her very presence breathed new life in him, time and time again. But the evil that nested within him only subsided for a brief moment. He could feel it boiling with barely contained rage deep inside him. Rey's light burned the creature like fire, but his own soul fed it with new life. It was completely hopeless, so he just made the outmost effort and suppressed it all.

"Rey", he said in a hoarse voice. "Rey, my love, please – wake up".

She remained there in front of him, completely still.

He gently lifted her head and put it on his knee. She had an open wound on her head, but she was strong. She would heal. He knew it. Only if she would wake up now, he thought.

"Please, Rey", he whispered, feeling soon even the effort to speak would be too much.

He pulled her even closer to him. This is the last time, he thought – the last time to hold her. He felt his mother's ring on her finger and it felt like a touch of fresh mountain stream on his scorched lips. He felt the two seeds of life inside of her and it made him howl in pain. The pain of not experiencing that life with her split him in two.

"Please", he cried once again.

"Ben", she uttered and his heart jumped with the last moment of joy.

But she didn't realize it at first – she only saw that he was alive, and smiling at her. She embraced him tightly, her eyes languid and groggy from the blow.

He had to unglue her from his body. It hurt like he was tearing his own flesh and skin down to his very bones.

"Rey" he said, trying to distance himself from her. "It is time".

She looked at him with her bright, clear eyes and a question in them. The realization was quickly dawning on her.

"Oh, no", she uttered. "No. No".

"We don't have the time", he whispered. "I have no more strength. I am torn apart… again. I can't do it myself. I'm too weak. Forgive me".

"No", she cried again, refusing to listen.

"Summon the saber, Rey", he said, feeling that he was holding on with his last remaining atoms of strength. "And do it. It won't last long. I would just fall asleep. Time means nothing in the perspective of the Force. _There is no death, there is the Force._ You'll release me. You'll defeat Snoke. Do it, _please_ ".

That _"please"_ – gods, if only she could punch her fist right through that most terrible of all words in existence.

"No", she shrieked back at him, blind with tears and with rage. It made him only weaker.

"Do it", he made a low roar. "Do it, scavenger. He's tearing me apart. He's too powerful. And once he wins, he will be unstoppable. Rey…"

He felt his own sanity was slowly subsiding. Something else was coming in, and it was terrifying. It was Snoke's true form.

The air around them changed. First it seemed to thicken, and then it decompressed. Ben's breathing became lighter, but only for a moment.

"Rey", Luke said softly. "Only you can end this. Release him. End his suffering".

The appearance of an old, frail man was settling in. This time, it looked as if it is here to stay – the time for Jedi to end.

Rey looked at him with eyes full of despair and contempt. She had no compassion for this man's errors. She felt the cruelty and cry for justice building up inside her like a typhoon. But she couldn't keep those feelings for too long. Ben fell backwards, already barely conscious.

Rey shrieked again. But she knew. There was no escape from this. She was caught in a reiterating nightmare, in an infinite reality that always led to this precise moment.

Saber made a howling sound as it turned up in her hand.

Luke stopped the small alliance at the bottom of the stairs with a stern gesture. It was too dangerous. Snoke was still alive. The infection might spread to them. And then everything would be lost. The light of the galaxy would turn into eternal darkness and to death of all deaths.

She pulled Ben up and placed him sitting on the staircase. There was still a faint recognition in him. He tried to speak and smile, but his thought remained voiceless.

 _I love you_ , she said in her mind. Even mentally, she was sobbing, the corridors of her mind echoing with endless grief.

 _I know_ , his mouth twitched, but no sound came out. He was dying, his suffering only temporarily sedated by Luke's and Rey's presence.

In silence, focused like the Jedi of the old, she pierced his heart swiftly with the single activation of the blade. He died simply, with a small sigh that resembled relief.

The moment it was over, Rey flung the saber as far away from her as she could. She fell to her knees and released a long, inhuman howl.

The acid rain again began falling on Korriban temple. It was cold and damp. It was blood red, mixing rain drops with the acidic dust in its atmosphere. But other than that, there were no explosive manifestations of the great victory the Light has waged. The rain was falling softly, releasing its toxic content on the stained staircase and the ancient temple. The entire planet was a sole tomb – dead Sith were asleep, like gods who couldn't die, but had no need for worship or memory any more.

"Rey", Luke said softly.

She raised her gaze and saw, as far as eye could reach, thousands upon thousands of Jedi masters from eras gone by. A litany of ghosts surrounded her in what appeared to be a silent memorial.

They whispered the ancient Jedi code, their whispers only slightly higher than the breeze that swept over Korriban:

" _There is no emotion, there is peace._

 _There is no ignorance, there is knowledge._

 _There is no passion, there is serenity._

 _There is no chaos, there is harmony._

 _There is no death, there is the Force"._

But the words, spoken in myriad of different dialects, most of them long extinct, brought no peace and no balance to Rey.

She had but one code, but one credo.

Her soul turned into a single desperate thought.

"Please", she whispered. "Bring him back".

The spirits stood around her, frozen in time. Their faces were saddened, but impenetrable.

"Rey", Luke said in a broken voice. "It is impossible. The cycle of life and death is natural. Jedi welcome the transformation into Force. It is something to be celebrated, not to be despaired over. He died a heroic death. He gave his life so that all of Galaxy may live. The ultimate enemy is defeated thanks to him".

He tried to reach out to her with his hand, but she flinched and tensed like a wounded beast. The green and golden dust in her eyes sunk into deep black sea of hatred and opposition.

Something inside of her was broken. Something that broke within her became hardened like obsidian.

"No", she said with a dark, low tone. "No. You failed him. You betrayed him, each and every one you. Everything you ever did has led to this, and you knew it. You knew it, and yet did nothing to stop it. He surpasses each and every one of you. He surpasses all of you together. You sacrificed one boy's life for – what: for absolution of your own sins, for absolution of your own Jedi vanity?"

The clouds above condensed and a near-by thunderstruck made the temple tremble.

"Kanan", Hera exclaimed, frightened. "Stop her. She'll hurt herself".

"What is it, Masters?" Rey howled. "Do I scare you? Do you ponder whether I'll turn to the Dark Side now? Turn to the powerful Sith that reside here? Don't you think I can't feel their presence in the Force: their knowledge, their immortality and their power? Do you deliberate right now who could take my life so that the prophecy might be fulfilled at last? Do you want to aim straight through my womb, so that all the danger might perish at once? Is that emotionless enough? Does that satisfy you enough?"

Luke looked at her, broken and silent – he looked like he was aging by every second.

"You should be afraid", she said with that same low roar. "I am the light that never goes away. If I extinguish that light, then all hope is lost. I am that raw, untamed power. No one precedes me, no one except for him. And he's gone".

And as the reality of that fact again hit her, that thing inside her broke once more. She looked down on his dead body and fell to her knees again.

"He's gone", she whispered. "He's gone. And he is not coming back. He was weak. He was foolish. And he was mine".

Rey lifted him up and placed him gently in her lap, kissing his forehead and cradling him in her embrace.

Hera, Poe and Finn flexed for a moment.

"Let her grieve", Hera said. "There is no wisdom in the universe that could make this go away".

Luke was sitting near her still when they heard her talking again:

"I break all my ties with the Jedi. From this point on, you do not exist. When he is buried, so will you be. I have your books. I am the warden of your knowledge. I am the last remaining Jedi. And I will let the knowledge die the same way you let him die. Without this power, no one will ever be corrupted again. You wanted for the Jedi to end. Well, they end _now_ ".

Ghosts started disappearing in the dense atmosphere of Korriban slowly and silently, like a water-color painting washed away by rain.

Luke looked at her with a deeply weary, depressed gaze, but said nothing. She was now deliberately oblivious of him. She had that single-mindedness in her and once it was awaken, it was terrifying.


	13. Chapter 13

Whoever strayed to this chapter or even more alarming - read everything up to this point: you're a Jedi Master, Yoda level. In the previous chapter, Ben dies, sacrificing himself for the Balance and for Rey and - their children. Yes, I am very sappy and emotional. My first idea was to leave him for dead. But somehow, as the time approached, I found it difficult to kill off a fictional character. Strange things.

Epilogue

 _Synopsis: I'm an incurable romantic._

 _Rey accepts to build the funeral pyre on Ahch-to. Although she refuses to connect herself with Jedi and to wield the light-saber, she still feels the soothing call of the Force through Leia's ring. As she prepares for Ben's funeral, she reveals to Poe that she's pregnant with Ben's twins. Poe promises he'll be the father for the children, if she wishes him to, professing his love for her. There is a short memorial in which Poe thanks Ben, on the behalf of the Council and the galaxy restored, for taking the ultimate sacrifice and saving the galaxy from total destruction. He recognizes him as one of the greatest Jedi who ever lived and as the hero of the Resistance._

How much she's changed, he thought. But it didn't make him love her any less – on the contrary. There was a new quality in her that moved him to his core. She was wearing ink blue and black robes – a black tunic bound on the side, over soft pants and leather boots. Her hair appeared darker. Rey pulled it up into two symmetrical braids on both sides of her head. Leia's ring was still on her hand. With her braids resembling a crown and her elaborate ring, she reminded him of aristocracy from the time of the Old Republic.

He was in love with her. First he was attracted to her legend, and then he fell in love with her strength, her wit, her compassion and her bravery.

It broke his heart to see her eyes extinguished and hardened. But he had faith that this wave of change that she has started will eventually bring her back the hope she lost.

And he will be on her side all the way.

"Poe", she invited him in. "Come. We need to talk".

He came into the small cabin and sat next to her on a simple wooden chair.

"Anything", he again promised, and he meant it whole-heartedly.

It took her some time to bring herself to tell him. She instinctively reached for the ring and touched its two gems. And then she said slowly.

"It is necessary for the Council to know, in the light of everything that happened. You see, the truth is…"

She paused and looked at him with something of that old brightness in her eyes again.

"I am pregnant, Poe", she said as the matter of fact. "I am carrying twins. It is still very early, but I know. I sensed it some time ago".

Poe was left speechless – again. But he realized this hasn't swayed him. He probably knew himself already. There was a strong bond between Ben Solo and her. They had that one night on Lothal. It was only natural. He would do the same, given the chance.

He sighed.

"Rey", he said."I know it's hard to raise children in this world – now probably harder than ever. I was an orphan half of my childhood. You know loneliness yourself. I have no family to go back to, so do you. If you wish me to stay, I'll stay. I want to help you. Everything I ever wanted was to help you and to stay by your side. Let me do it now. I'll raise the kids as my own. Give them my name, if you want to avoid all the Solo – Skywalker conundrum. Or don't – I don't care, as long as I'm with you".

"You're a good man", she said and smiled.

"But I'm not him", he replied in a sad voice. "I know. And I'll never pretend that I'll be able to replace him. But I'll make this life easier for you. I'll be there for the kids. It will be good. You set the fire that brought hope to this galaxy. It is only fair that this hope would return to you, thousand fold".

Rey smiled bitterly.

"Fairness and hope don't go hand in hand, Poe", she replied. "Not in this reality".

Rose appeared at the door.

"Rey", she said gently. "It is time".

Rey shuddered and Poe glanced at her worriedly again. But she stood up firmly and decidedly.

"Let's go", she said and strode out from the cabin.

Poe hated this. He did this for General Organa, and now he was burying her son. All the thoughts he had about orchestrating a tribunal for his crimes were washed away by that rain on Korriban.

"He was the greatest among us", he said and meant it. "He was the man who went deeply into the Dark Side and returned as the warrior of the Light. He sacrificed himself so that all the rest of galaxy can stay alive. Resistance has many unsung heroes. Ben Solo won't be one of them. And Ben Solo made sure there are no more dead heroes, sung or unsung. Whenever we commemorate his death, we are remembering all those who died fighting the common enemies and who were left unburied in the dungeons, in the sea, in the open space, on distant planets. May Ben Solo's transformation to the Force be light and blissful. May he be welcomed by his ancestors and Jedi masters to whom he rightfully belongs. May the Force be with him".

Quiet sobbing was heard from the representatives of the Resistance. There was something so raw and essentially human in that last goodbye – and the very fact that these people could mourn once most hated man showed clearly that the Balance was acting on every being in the galaxy. But Rey stood motionless and distant. She waited until Poe finished, and then proceeded to say her final good-bye. She ascended to the funeral pyre and frowned as she put her hands on Ben's covered face, as if she was still inspecting if he is under the covers. Slowly, she removed the linen that covered his face. Poe had to choke on the tears as he watched her caress her dead love's hair. She leaned over him and kissed him one last time.

Luke Skywalker was on her side.

He said nothing. He waited for her to say her last good-byes. But she didn't acknowledge him – she only frowned as if to say: _"What are you doing here?"_

"I will never forget you", she whispered. "I will never stop loving you. Wait for me".

She slowly descended and touched his cheek from the ground again.

"Good-bye, my love", she said.

Then she gestured to Finn to pass her the torch.

"You don't need to do this", he said, deeply moved by her loneliness and pain.

"I need to", she replied sternly and gestured again to Finn to hurry up. "I sent him there. I need to finish what I've started".

Finn nodded and passed her the torch. She absolutely refused to use the light-saber. There was a single-mindedness in her which, when provoked, could appear terrifying.

Hera saw Kanan with her peripheral vision and she knew Luke Skywalker wasn't far away either. But Rey seemed oblivious or simply seemed not to care.

Hera definitely renamed "Ghost" into "Irony". It made no sense to her that those who had both the will and the reason to live were cut short in their lives while she, old and worn-out, battle-weary and cynical, was left to roam the galaxy like a – ghost. An ultimate irony it was indeed. Now Rey would share similar fate. It was a bitter fate. Both Hera and Kanan knew it. But at least, they had more years in their lives to share – so much more than Ben Solo and Rey.

Hera sobbed in her corner.

Rey slowly and steadily came back to the pyre. The wooden bricks were piled high and she had to climb few steps again so she might set it on fire. She climbed and stretched on the make-shift ladder. But as she came to the top and reached with her hand to cover Ben's face for the last time, she stopped and frowned.

It probably was just the cruel interplay of her nerves, the light and the wind, but for the briefest moment, she thought she could see his chest moving. She touched his neck and checked his pulse and breath, but she couldn't tell anything for certain this time.

" _I am going insane",_ she thought. But something in her made her simply throw the torch away, far into the rocks and ocean. It landed between two Porgs.

"Rey", Poe came to her side. "We don't have to do this right now. We can wait. We don't need to do… cremation at all. There are other ways".

She hushed him.

"Wait", she whispered and put her hands on Ben. Her ring murmured soothingly, she could feel it again permeating under her despair. She could clearly hear its steady and persistent low frequency.

She absolutely refused to go back to the ways of Jedi. Rey again resorted to simple pleas.

"Please, if you can hear me", she said. "Please, come back. Come back".

That child from Jakku cried out again. She was again reduced to that same loneliness and raw yearning.

Poe was deeply concerned and summoned Hera to come to his side.

"Kid", Hera pleaded with her. "Come down, please. It will be alright. It's hell at the beginning, but it gets better with time, I promise".

And she didn't believe herself, not for a moment.

But Rey became completely oblivious to everything else. The hum continued.

"Ben", she said again. "Please. Please, come back".

And as Poe seriously considered pulling her down forcefully, accusing himself for not noticing that her mental state was so frail, something happened. Ben Solo moved and Hera, him, Rey and Finn could clearly see it.

Poe had enough of possessed bodies and deadly viruses for a whole lifetime. He almost stumbled and reached for his gun. But the re-animated corpse wasn't dead.

Ben Solo slowly stood up and sat upright.

"Goodness, Force, and all the deities in the galaxy", Hera exclaimed.

It was hard to explain what has happened. Ben descended slowly with the face of a man awaken from a deep and invigorating sleep. He kissed Rey long and hard and kept her in his arms for a long time. But it wasn't time long enough to make the present parties shake off the complete and utter dismay.

"Where were you?" Rey asked him.

"I was here, all the time", he answered simply and smiled down on her.

"Is this a dream?" Finn asked Rose.

"I don't think it is", Rose replied and kissed him gently. "And if it is, I don't think I ever want to wake up again".

* * *

With galaxy recovering from the war, the Council, Ben Solo and Rey agreed that the best place for the young family to reside for some time was Ahch-to. They didn't change the island – it remained as they found it. It was impossible to make past die – and in the end, it was a futile task. The past was now transformed into something new – into new life and new order.

Their children were born on an ordinary day – no great galactic holiday, no great alignment of planets. The boy was named Han and the girl Leia.

With the abolition of the slavery and release of so many child slaves, Rey and Ben welcomed the Force sensitive boys and girls to the newly found academy on Ahch-to. They would start training early and cautiously. It seemed that the island somehow grew bigger with the growing Jedi academy. But it was an ancient island, from time immemorial protected by the Force and physical laws didn't seem to apply.

Rey – now Solo – and Ben adopted many other children in the years that ensued. Among the names they first used to call the adopted babies were Finn, Poe, Luke, Shara, Satine and Jaina.

Poe resumed his duties in the Council. His disappointment very quickly subsided as he saw Rey glowing with happiness that was at last in the alignment with the Balance she restored to the galaxy (although she still playfully reminded him she was never a fully formed Jedi to begin with). He truly loved her until the end of his days, proven by the fact that he never resented her happiness and that all her children loved their Uncle Poe the same way he loved them back. Shara Bey's wedding band was passed on to Kay – their loyalty and friendship growing into steady and loving companionship.

Finn made his fantasy about the moisture farm reality and as he suspected, Rose found it dull to no end. However, with all the surrounding towns on Lothal trying to revive their economies, mechanics were in great demand. They both enjoyed the fact that they were included into building of a new, better society. Finn finally felt what true, unbridled hope felt like and Rose was there to taste it too.

Hera died some years later, peacefully and in her sleep, leaving the "Ghost" to Rose. "Re-name it again, kid", she wrote in the testament. Rey and Rose had no doubt that she and Kanan went to live in the eternity as two soul-mates that they were already during this life-time.

The Solo children were not quite Jedi, but were definitely not Sith or Ren as well. It was truly a new era of Force users – perhaps not as powerful, but definitely more subdued and balanced.

The Dark Side wasn't destroyed – which was yet another futile task considered only by some Jedi fractions long time ago. It has returned to entropy that fed the life of the galaxy and made new stars, planets and matter possible.

Luke Skywalker's ghost remained to appear only on Ahch-to and only so often. He had the steady appearance of an older, frailer but contended man. He could be seen by the Solos and the young _padawans_ from time to time, discussing some indiscernible Jedi truths with Master Yoda – two peculiar solitary figures against the sunset of Ahch-to.


End file.
